Newsies extra credit post
The Broadway play, Newsies, dramatized the actual historical strike that took place in the summer of 1899 for two weeks. The actual strike was one of ten that took place in New York City between 1886 and 1948, but this one revolved around the pioneers of yellow journalism, Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, and how they refused to reduce the price of the papers for their carriers.
As the program stated, Joseph Pulitzer wasn’t even in the city when the strike occurred in 1899, nor did Governor Teddy Roosevelt intervene on behalf of the strikers (though he would do so as president in the coal mine strike in 1902). So it makes me wonder what is more important for a piece of entertainment – historical accuracy or riveting drama?
Also as the program mentioned, the Newsies strike is similar to some of the most recent strikes that have been going on across the country in the past two and a half years. Workers have increasingly gone on strike for lots of different reasons recently, and there are some definite parallels with the Newsies’ strike.
Lastly, there was an undercurrent of change, as portrayed by Katherine Plumber, who was trying to break into the very male-dominated world of reporting.
To get credit for this blog, please answer the first two questions and pick two of the several remaining questions to answer:
Required questions #1 and #2)
Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
Pick two of the following questions to answer in addition to the 2 above:
3. How had women’s roles changed in the time period we have been studying (1491-1840s)? Provide some specifics.
4. What were some reasons why the Newsies were reluctant to go on strike? How might those reasons influence modern workers to be reluctant to go on strike or join a union?
5. In the play, how did Pulitzer exercise his wealth and power to try and get Jack Kelly to undermine the strike? How can we see this exercise of wealth and power used by businesses and CEOs to squash strikes and unions today?
6. Was the play pro or anti union? Explain why with specific examples from the play.
7. Why did the children in the play have to go to work instead of being in school? How different or similar are those reasons to why children and teens work today?
Total answers for all 4 questions should be a minimum of 400 words.
Due Tuesday night, November 21, by midnight.
1.Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
There was a huge strike where the united auto workers refused to work because the auto workers were not being paid enough. In the past few years due to inflation the cost of living has gone up however the wages of the auto workers have not gone up which makes paying the bills and putting food on the table much more difficult. The strike was resolved by the big three (GM, Ford and Chrysler) offering contracts for the unions to ratify that offer at least a 25% salary raise to everyone, if not more. However it is not completely resolved as the union still has to ratify the contracts. The UAW most definitely won the strike because they got the pay raise that they wanted and most likely will push for more.
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
In both strikes there were many similarities. In both examples the pickett line was used and at the end of the day for both the Newsies and the UAW they will have more money in their pockets. On the other hand while in Newsies they are striking over the costs of materials and over pennies, with the recent strike the workers were trying to get paid more and inflation has caused the amount of money being fought over to be much larger.
4. What were some reasons why the Newsies were reluctant to go on strike? How might those reasons influence modern workers to be reluctant to go on strike or join a union?
The newsies were worried about a few main things, they were not making any money and they were at risk of being beaten up. Nowadays one does not have to worry as much about being physically abused but they are greatly affected by the fact that if they aren’t working then they aren’t making any money and instead of being beaten up they worry that after the strike they won’t have a job.
7. Why did the children in the play have to go to work instead of being in school? How different or similar are those reasons to why children and teens work today?
In the play the kids have to go to work because their parents are either dead or incapable of working and they had to provide money to feed themselves and their families if they had any. Nowadays kids work in order to have spending money or to add into a college fund, most teens do not work in order to feed their families because if their parents are incapable for whatever reason, for many there are systems in place to provide for them so that they can go to school. This is not to say that nowadays no kids work for a living, that still happens but it is much more uncommon than it was.
Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
I researched the Writers Guild of America strike in 2023. The writers went on strike over a labor issue with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. They also went on strike because of the cut of most writers’ average incomes compared to a decade ago. The writers also wanted artificial intelligence to be used only as a tool to help with research or coming up with script ideas and not used to replace writers. The economics of the past few years contributed to writers working conditions significantly. COVID-19 led to a boom in streaming services and tv entertainment yet the writers income was cut and half of TV series writers are being paid the minimum rate, up from 33 percent between 2013-2014. COVID-19 also increased demand for content, making the workers jobs even harder. Following an agreement, union leadership voted to end the strike on September 27, 2023. On October 9, the WGA (Writer Guild of America) membership officially ratified the contract with nearly all of WGA members voting in favor of it. I would say the writers won the strike, but are still facing difficulties as they didnt get everything they originally wanted. The agreement that happened made a system for using artificial intelligence, which allows writers to use AI without lessening their credit or compensation. The writers did not get some of the things they wanted including a provision not allowing studios to train AI systems to be able to do the writers’ jobs.
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined
Both the Newsies strike and the Writers Guild strike were similar because they both were trying to establish fair wages for hard work and were scared of replacement. They differed because, in the technological era we’re currently in, the writers are worried about artificial intelligence replacing them, resulting in the loss of jobs. On the other hand, the newsies were worried about other kids coming to replace them in selling papers. This made it important that all the burrows of New York band together to form a union. The writer strike differed because, before the strike, they were already unionized.
3. How have women’s roles changed in the time period we have been studying (1491-1840s)? Provide some specifics.
Women’s roles changed significantly between 1491 and 1840. At the beginning of this time frame, women had limited rights and expectations of just being housewives. They had little opportunity to voice their opinions. Following the American Revolution, women gained a little more respect through Republican motherhood, where they were allowed to teach the children who would become the future of the nation. When men went off to battle, women were given the keys to manage farms and businesses for a short period of time. Women also sometimes went off to battle with their husbands and sometimes ended up fighting with them. In the period of the industrial revolution, women got more opportunities to work in paying jobs, like working in factories. The shift from having nearly no rights and no say to being able to enter the workforce is significant. There was still much more work to be done when it comes to women’s rights after the industrial revolution, like the ability to vote.
7. Why did the children in the play have to go to work instead of being in school? How different or similar are those reasons to why children and teens work today?
The children in the play had to go to work instead of being in school because they needed to make money to provide for either their family, or themselves, as some were orphaned. For some people in less fortunate communities kids and teens are forced to work to help support their families which is similar to back in 1899. In more fortunate areas, many kids now work to support their own wants and desires rather than as a means to provide for their families.
Throughout this year, writers in Hollywood have gone on strike. This is a result of changes to the entertainment industry due to streaming. Streaming has negatively affected how much writers can make writing a TV show. They are already underpaid enough and they also have to work very hard and long hours. The phrase follow your passion is being exploited. Lastly, they are striking over fears that AI can take over their jobs. Streaming has negatively affected them as writing a season of a show that used to last 22 episodes now only lasts maybe 6-8. Instead of working for 40 weeks in a year now you only work 20 so you have to find multiple jobs in a single year to maintain afloat. Also, producers kept cutting costs and this only seems to affect the writers. They’ll still pay the actors the same amount and the CGI the same but they cut the writers. The Writers Guild of America voted to go on strike on April 2, 2023, and they reached an agreement on November 8th. The WGA met and negotiated with the AMPTP and the tentative agreement says that they will get a 12% pay increase for 3 years.
This strike is different from the Newsies strike because the Newsies did not receive direct payment from the Newspaper, rather they bought the newspapers and then would go and sell them. The writers, however, are direct employees of the companies they work for and they provide a service to their employers not the other way around like the Newsies. The Writers strike also lasted substantially longer than the Newsies strike which only lasted 2 weeks. They both inflicted considerable financial damage on their opposition. The Newsies caused The World to only sell ⅓ of their newspapers while the writers cost the L.A. economy 2 billion dollars in revenue
This play is very pro-union as they chose a successful union strike to be the subject of their play. The truth is that many strikes in 19th century America were not very successful. Newsies shows the main character Jack Kelly as a strong-willed, intelligent young man and manages to overpower the fact that he is an orphaned, homeless boy. The play shows that unions, even those run by homeless teenagers, can have influence and power over their employers. The scene where all the newsies from all the different boroughs showed them in a positive light and made that union seem as if they had actual influence which they did
In the play, the children who worked the newsie job were working to maintain themselves and or their families. They did not have the opportunity to go to school as they needed the money for their survival. The main character, Jack Kelly was homeless. The two brothers, said that they were working to help their folks. This is different from the reasons kids work today in America at least in our school district as people in our school district do not need to work to make ends meet. In our suburban lifestyle, kids work either for pocket money, to save up for large purchases such as a car, or to save up for the future.
Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
In the recent strike by teachers in Portland, Oregon, teachers are going on strike due to wages and the amount of students in each class. As well as the fact that many black and Indigenous students are being suspended more than their white peers. The strike has not yet been resolved, and now about 80 schools have been going weeks without any school days and a break coming up.
How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
The teacher strike is extremely different from the one that takes place in the musical Newsies. The age difference in the employees striking is one major difference, as well as the fact that well teachers are on strike thousands of children are now unable to attend school for a long period of time, whereas when the newsies went on strike although their services were gone, not having newspapers more greatly affected the company and Pulitzer who sold the newspapers rather than the general public.
What were some reasons why the Newsies were reluctant to go on strike? How might those reasons influence modern workers to be reluctant to go on strike or join a union?
The Newsies were reluctant to go on strike because many of them were living paycheck to paycheck, depending on the money they made selling newspapers in order to live. Many of them also expressed the concern that if the recently raised prices of newspapers returned to what they were before, Pulitzer would only change it back and manipulate them time after time. A worker’s union could protect their rights or possibly be more respected by Pulizer so they could be taken seriously when they were concerned about the prices being increased.
Why did the children in the play have to go to work instead of being in school? How different or similar are those reasons to why children and teens work today?
The children in the play couldn’t go to school because they had to work to support themselves or their family if they had one. Today most teens who work I would say do it to save money, or to help their family.
A recent strike that has occurred is teachers striking in Andover, Massachusetts for a fourth day in a row. This strike was caused due to the teachers pay and how the raise they were receiving wasn’t high enough to their likings. This is because the raise they were about to get wasn’t going to cover the new tax law the city was putting in place. This strike hasn’t ended yet so their is no clear decision on who has won, but, the teachers side is looking more favorable because they won’t resume classes until they receive a raise they like and would be enough to afford the new tax raise. Also, this strike has been going on for four days straight and doesn’t seem like the teachers are going to give up yet leading to the students having a lack in education in this period forcing the district to make a decision quickly. This strike is similar to the ones in Newsies because in the play they were striking over the raise in newspaper prices causing the newsies to need to sell more newspapers to make a profit, in the strike I researched the teachers are striking due to a raise in taxes making their paychecks not able to cover as much expenses. Question 4 – The newsies were somewhat reluctant to go on strike because if they weren’t successful they would have lost all the money they could have earned in the time the strike was going on and could make their lives even harder than they already are. They were also worried that other newsies would just take their place and the strike would be pointless. The teachers are probably in the same position because they aren’t getting paid for going on strike and maybe the district could hire other teachers to take their place, making their strike pointless. Question 7 – The children in Newsies had to go to work and sell newspapers instead of going to school because either their family was poor and needed to make more money or they were orphans living on the streets and had to make money to survive on the streets while evading the police to put them in a home. This is somewhat similar in a way to why some children work today. Some work at early ages to help out their families with money issues or might be doing it because they don’t have a family to provide for them. A counterargument to this is that some kids might be working to have spending money of their own and not always having to ask their parents. Either way, children still need to work nowadays to get money for their families or own use.
1.)A recent, and popular strike that has happened is the SAG-AFTRA strike. The SAG-AFTRA strike was from actors and writers–SAG-AFTRA joined forces with WGA–in hopes for a higher pay and better working conditions. Additionally, participants went on strike over the threat AI has caused to their jobs. The writers and actors went on strike against Hollywood. With this strike, SAG-AFTRA successfully shut down production all over. A contributing factor is the lucrative industry of streaming. Streaming is one of the fastest growing businesses making multiple billions of dollars, contributing large a large amount to our economy. The problem comes with once a production is put on a streaming service, the commission given to the actors is little. Additionally, the pay of actors also added. What frustrated many is that such a booming industry is not able to pay their actors enough. Instead, the heads of the company keep it to themselves, furthering their wealth. With these industries growing, it only makes sense that they’d be able to pay their employees more. Additionally, the strike also effected the economy. The lack of production caused a loss of approximately $6.5 billion. This strike lasted from July 14,2023-November 9,2023. It ended when a compromise was reached between Hollywood and SAG-AFTRA. The compromise includes new levels of minimum compensation, bonuses with streaming, and protection from AI. This strike was successful and historic. It was the longest strike ever from actors. The workers won this strike. They caused a significant loss to the industry, solidifying their point. Additionally, they gained what they deserved.
2.) One similarity between SAG-AFTRA and the Newsies strike is the pay aspect. Both parties didn’t believe they were being payed enough. Additionally, the heads of the industries were extremely wealthy, leaving nothing to their employees. Both groups showed extreme amounts of displeasure with the system set in place–with the heads of the industries. Also, both parties are upset with the conditions they are working in. Finally both strikes were successful. The parties on strike got the conditions they fought for and created history during it. There are also many differences. To start, the time periods play a huge part. For example, many in SAG-AFTRA were worried about AI, and other technological advances taking their job. This fear is nonexistent, as none of the worries SAG-AFTRA had even existed during the time of the Newsies strike. Additionally, though they both fought for better work conditions, the conditions they work in are quite different. Many Newsies didn’t even have a few cents to their name, and are displayed to be dirty from the lack of being able to clean themselves. Another grand difference is the job that caused each to go on strike. The Newsies were newspaper boys who would hustle selling papers all throughout New York City. On the other hand, SAG-AFTRA is made up of actors all over the world.
4.) The Newsies were reluctant about the strike because they were worried that it would not benefit them. Many were worried about how the strike could negatively affect them. For example, Newsies lived on the streets and were very poor. Their only source of income came from selling newspapers, so if they were not selling they would not make any money. Since they are already very poor, they cannot afford to loose their source of income. Additionally, they were worried that other Newsies from other boroughs may still sell newspapers, making the strike useless. They fixed this by convincing everyone that they should go on strike.
7.)The children of the union did not attend school because they were preoccupied with selling newspapers. Since they were very poor and lived on the streets–or needed to help their family– the Newsies needed to work. They spent their days on the streets selling newspaper for a minimal amount of money, instead of going to school.
1. While I was researching I came across an interesting strike involving the Kellogg’s brand. The strike was in 2021 and lasted from October 5 to December 21. The strike occurred in multiple places, some being, Battle Creek, Michigan Omaha, and Nebraska Lancaster. The workers went on strike because of a new labor contract. The contract changed many things for workers including health care, holidays, retirement benefits, and vacation time. About 1,400 workers were involved in the strike and the strike affected all Kellog businesses across the country. Kellog’s management proposed a plan, “raise wages by 3% for longtime workers and put in place standard wage rates for all employees ranked as “in transition”, the proposition starting salaries at $22.76 for when workers are hired and receiving a $.90 raise per year, for the 6 first years.” (Wikipedia) The union rejected their proposal and Kellogs announced they would try to replace all 1,400 workers. The union of workers decided to approve a collective bargaining agreement, and with that, the strike ended. I believe the workers won in this situation. The workers got their agreement and the strike lasted 77 days, which had to have a great impact on Kellogs productions.
2. Both strikes involved a large number of workers banding together to fight what was wrong. In the newsies strike they were fighting against the price of the papers. The Kellogs strike was similar because they were fighting a part of the changed wages for standard and long-time employees. The play portrayed a union of children who had to sell papers to feed them and their loved ones. But the Kellogs strike was all working adults who depended on their jobs giving them fair working conditions so they could provide for their families. Both strikes have similarities that I believe many strikes include, but there were different circumstances involving each.
3. How had women’s roles changed in the time period we have been studying (1491-1840s)? Provide some specifics.
When Columbus arrived in the Americas and women arrived in Jamestown there was a societal norm that women were only there to raise children and clean up the house. As the centuries passed women became more involved with learning and teaching their children. When the Revolutionary War was fought women had to run the house, businesses, and children when the men were gone. As the US was growing as its own independent country and the textile industry expanded, women became even more independent. When they worked in textile factories, they could earn their own money and even spend it. This was a huge jump in women’s roles in the community. Even though women couldn’t vote yet, they were gradually becoming more independent and more prominent members of society.
4. What were some reasons why the Newsies were reluctant to go on strike? How might those reasons influence modern workers to be reluctant to go on strike or join a union?
In the play, the newsies didn’t want to go on strike at first because of multiple reasons. The first being that they thought the company would just find more kids who would pay the higher price and replace the working children. The second reason was that they were worried that other kids from different parts of NYC wouldn’t follow them and all the kids would be out of work, and that meant they couldn’t feed themselves or their families. The same thing probably goes through people’s heads now when they decide to strike. People now want stable jobs to feed their families and if they go on strike there is a chance they would be out of a job and unable to provide for them. I bet people are also worried about how many would join their strike. It’s risky to go on strike but if you have your intentions right and you don’t give in, a strike can be very effective.
Question 1:The recent strike I researched was the John Deere employee strike in October to November of 2021. The reason for this strike was employees were unhappy with the new 6 year contract that would take away pension for new hires as well as only increase pay by 11% over the full 6 years. 10,000 employees went on strike because of this contract. The economics that caused this was because there’s already inflation, and the employees are experiencing a drop in contract. The strike was resolved by the negotiating of the contract. They ended with a 6 year contract with a 20% raise (half in the first year), 8,500 ratification bonus, and retirement package. I think the workers won this strike because the issue that they had, with the contract, was resolved in their favor. They got an extra 9% in their raise, and retained their retirement package.
Question 2: The John Deere strike was similar to the Newsies strike because it concerned wages. In the Newsies strike, they had to pay 10 cents more for the same amount of papers. John Deere had issues with the amount of money that was in the raise. It is different concerning the wages because there was a decrease in the actual wages in the John Deere strike, while in the Newsies strike there was an increase in the product.
Question 4: The reason that many of the Newsies were reluctant to strike was because for many of them it was a major income in their homes. If they refused to buy the papers and sell them then they wouldn’t make any money. This meant that they couldn’t buy food for themselves or their families. This is similar to modern strikes/unions because without an income it’s hard to provide for yourself and your family. This would prevent people from joining strikes and unions because if you join a union then you have to strike when they do and if you can’t work you can’t provide.
Question 7: The reason that the Newsies had to work was because their parents needed them to help provide for their family. In modern times, children and teens work in order to make money to spend on going out with their friends and to add into their college fund. Most children and teens don’t have to work in order to provide for their families. They work to provide for their own wants and needs.
Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
1. I researched the recent writers’ strike by the Writers Guild of America that occurred from May 2nd to September 27th. There were two focal points as to why the writers were striking. The main one was fair compensation. The decline in their pay was due to writer’s contract negotiators taking a larger cut of the residuals given out to film crews. Residuals are the pay for everyone on a TV or movie crew including writers, actors, directors, etc. Another reason for the strike was concerning the use of generative AI for writing scripts. Writers believed that generative AI should be used as a tool to create concepts or ideas but believed that writers were still necessary. The COVID pandemic hurt every industry, one of those being the film industry. Many movies and TV shows were canceled leading to many writers being fired to cut costs. The strike ended after the WGA finished negotiations with the CEOs of many big companies including Disney, Warner Bros, and Netflix. They voted to officially end the strike and about a week later the proposal was ratified with 99 percent of the WGA for the new deal. I think the workers won this strike because they made producers lose substantial amounts of money and they were able to successfully negotiate a more favorable deal that almost all writers supported.
How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
2. The writer’s strike and the Newsie’s strike shown in the play are pretty similar. Both began over issues of pay, although the Newsie’s one was because the newspaper price was increased but that would result in a pay issue. Another similarity is that both strikes met with the owners/CEOs and negotiated a deal that they found favorable. One more similarity is that on both occasions an event led to pay issues. The end of the Spanish-American war hurt newspaper sales because they were less interesting and the COVID pandemic led to layoffs and pay cuts among the writers. One major difference is the matter of the AI with the writers which wasn’t at all a factor in the Newsies protest. There also wasn’t any physical violence in the recent writers’ strike like there was in the Newsies protests.
Was the play pro or anti union? Explain why with specific examples from the play.
6. The play was pro-union because it showed the union winning the strike and that even a small group of dedicated people could make a huge impact. They showed that a small region or group striking could unite others to create a massive impact. This was shown when the newsies in Queens united the other burrows and allowed Jack to negotiate with the Pulitzer to better the newsies’ pay. At the end of the play, the union succeeded in making a deal, showing that the play supported unions.
Why did the children in the play have to go to work instead of being in school?
How different or similar are those reasons to why children and teens work today?
7. The children had to go to work rather than school because their parents were unable to pay for necessities by themselves. They said when talking about the strike that they needed the money to feed themselves and their families so they were reluctant to stop working. This can be seen in society today in poorer areas, but it is much less prevalent than previously. Now most teens and children, especially the ones I personally know, work just to make a little extra money to buy things they want. I’ve never personally met somebody who had to work in order to eat or afford basic necessities.
1. I researched the United Auto Workers strike that began on September 15, 2023, and lasted until October 30, 2023. The workers went on strike for many reasons. Workers had not received a significant wage increase in years, and were unable to keep up with the rising cost of living. Additionally, the automakers were pushing for a two-tier wage system that would have paid new hires much lower wages. Another important factor that contributed to the strike was the inadequate benefits, such as healthcare and retirement benefits, which workers wanted to increase. A final factor motivating the workers was job security. The automakers were planning to invest in automation and outsourcing. After six weeks, the strike ended and UAW and the automakers reached a tentative agreement that included a 25-33% increase in wages, elimination of the two-tier wage system, and improvements to their healthcare and retirement benefits. Ultimately, I believe that the 2023 UAW strike was a significant victory for the workers. They were able to achieve some of their goals, however, they did not achieve all of their goals.
2. The UAW strike in 2023 and the Newsies strike in 1899 share many similarities, not only in their causes, but also in their goals, tactics, and outcomes. The UAW strike was mainly motivated by economic factors such as low wages. This is similar to the causes of the Newsies strike which were largely due to the low wages, long hours, and poor working conditions of the workers. The goal of the UAW strike was to increase these wages and improve benefits, while the Newsies strike sought to also increase wages, shorten hours, and improve working conditions. Additionally, the tactics used by both strikes are nearly the same, with both picketing and going on strikes. Finally, the outcomes of the strikes both saw improved conditions for workers, including wage increases, improved benefits, and shorter working hours.
4. In the Newsies strike of 1899, several factors contributed to their reluctance to go on strike. The Newsies were predominately impoverished children and teenagers who relied on selling newspapwers for a living. The fear of losing their income was proved to be a significant deterrent to striking. The Newsies also faced the power of newspaper magnates who could use their influence to retaliate against the striking children. Additionally the Newsies had little job security, often without formal contracts, and so the fear of losing their jobs and facing legal consequences made many reluctant to participate. This is very similar to the reasons why modern workers may be reluctant to go on strike or join a union. Modern workers, like the Newsies, may be financially vulnerable. Concerns about lost wages and the potential for long-term impact on their careers can discourage action. This is especially true in industries where job security is low, out of fear of reprisal or potential job loss, similar to the Newsies.
7. In the world of the Newsies play, children found themselves working instead of attending school due to a combination of economic necessity, limited access to education and lax labor laws. The late 19th century witnessed widespread economic disparities and many of the Newsies came from disadvantaged backgrounds. Working as newspaper sellers was a means of survival as their families might have relied on the income generated by the children to meet basic needs. This period was also characterized by less stringent child labor laws, and children were often employed at a young age. While progress has been made in child labor regulations and access to education globally, challenges still persist in certain regions. In some, cultural norms or economic hardships may still motivate children and teens to work. The play illustrates the importance of addressing socio-economic disparities and ensuring quality education for all.
1 – I chose to research the UAW strike. Over a month and a half (9/15/2023 -10/30/2023), up to 40,000 auto workers participated in a strike against the big three automakers: Ford, GM, and Stellantis. They made some really drastic demands: a four day work week, along with a 20% raise, and gradual yearly increases to raise their hourly wage by 46%, greater pension benefits, and a beneficial transition to electric vehicles.
According to the UAW, these are reasonable demands considering how much the Union “gave back” during the Financial crisis of 2008. The pandemic hit workers hard, and many resented union concessions made back in 2008 during the financial crisis. The path to recovering prior concessions was very bumpy, which explains why the strike was particularly contentious. Predictably, the auto companies were shocked at the demands. Ultimately, most workers received huge pay raises and benefits (they didn’t get a four-day work week).
However, I think that while the workers may have ‘won the battle, they will lose the war.’ According to the Wall Street Journal, pre-strike, US UAW workers are the highest paid auto workers in the world with average hourly wages of $66, so the companies were outraged by the strikes. With insight from my dad, who works at Ford, as a result, the Big Three will likely offshore jobs and plants to other countries (where workers will work for cheaper wages), incorporate more automation, and ultimately hurt American jobs. So, while in the short-term, union workers seemed to achieve many of their initial objectives, in the long-term, this will lead to a reduction of jobs that they will offer in America, and a faster transition to AI/automation in the production process. Another effect will be a cooling of the entrepreneurial spirit within the US. In the coming years, it will be far more difficult for future start-up companies in the US to be as successful, which could result in less innovation and small vehicle offerings and higher prices.
2 – It was similar in that they were able to coordinate efforts from many different places to significantly hurt the companies (the newsies had to coordinate between different places in New York in order to be effective, the UAW had to coordinate between various plants nationwide across all three companies in order to be effective). It is different because the newsies were less organized but the UAW is much more powerful has significantly more political protection (the newsies didn’t have funding/legal protections, so it was much riskier, but the UAW had greater resources).
4 – The Newsies were reluctant to go on strike because they were risking their livelihoods. If newsies from other sections of the city didn’t join or if the newspaper companies were able to hire other replacement workers, they would be left unemployed and without income – hurting the Newsies and their families. They also risked being arrested! Modern day workers face similar concerns, but today’s unions are much more organized, with union strike funds to compensate workers during the strike. Additionally, there are more legal protections today to prevent companies from doing mass layoffs (National Labor Relations Act). Overall, unions are much more powerful today, and with legal protections, striking is less risky than it was for the Newsies in the early 1900s.
7 – Children in the play had to work because they really had no other choice. Often, they had to support their family and couldn’t get educated. These children could be as young as 5 or 6, and many of them lived in near-poverty. Many resorted to being a newsboy despite the meager profits. This is mostly different from the reason that children and teens work today – poverty levels are much lower than they were in the early 1900s, and in most cases, children don’t need to work in order to support their families. They work so they can have some extra money. Today’s child labor protection laws also limit the extent that minors can work (limiting jobs/hours), and children need to go through extensive legal paperwork in order to work.
1. Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
I researched the Writers Guild of America strike. There was a strike because a new agreement wasn’t created between the WGA and the AMPTP. The WGA are the film writers and the AMPTP are the producers of shows/movies. Every three years a new contract is agreed on between these groups. The WGA wanted higher residuals because of the rising use of streaming services in the new agreement. The WGA also wanted more money, job security, and to not allow artificial intelligence to be used to write scripts. Part of the problem is that the WGA has seen an uptick in the use of streaming services, but the WGA doesn’t really have a contract with streaming services. This means that the writers who write for those services have to negotiate for their own pay. This leads to writers for streaming services earning less money than writers who don’t write for streaming services while still doing the same amount of work. The strike between the WGA members and the AMPTP ended when 99% of WGA members approved a new proposed contract. This ended a 148 day strike. I think the workers won the agreement because they ended up getting a pay raise, regulations on AI, health care, more residuals on streaming services, and longer guaranteed periods of work. The workers ended up getting what they wanted to get when the strike started.
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
The Newsies strike is similar to the WGA strike because they both involved a group of workers that were being taken advantage of by the people in charge of their work. In the WGA, the writers were less compensated when they worked for streaming services. The bosses of the services were taking advantage of the writers. In Newsies, Joseph Pulitzer raised the price of the papers that the Newsies bought and sold. This put them on strike because they didn’t like the higher price. Pulitzer was taking advantage of the newsies, just like how the streaming services didn’t pay the writers as much. These strikes are also similar because they both ended in an agreement where the workers got what they wanted from their boss. In Newsies, the newsies reached an agreement where they had to pay the new price, but Pulitzer had to take back any unsold papers. This was more important to the newsies because it allowed them to buy more papers even if they knew they probably wouldn’t sell them. Similarly, in the WGA, the writers got more money along with other things they were asking for.
There are some differences between the two strikes as well. Newsies involved kids, and the strike only lasted around two weeks. The WGA strike lasted 148 days, involved adults, and was on a much larger scale. The Newsies strike was one of the first strikes in America, and the WGA strike came over 100 years later after many other strikes as well.
4. What were some reasons why the Newsies were reluctant to go on strike? How might those reasons influence modern workers to be reluctant to go on strike or join a union?
The newsies were reluctant to go on strike because they were poor, and they needed the money from selling papers to help their family or support their own life. If the newsies stopped selling papers, their family or themselves might not have enough money to survive. This reason might influence modern workers because they might also be living paycheck to paycheck. When workers are on strike, they don’t make money. This could put the workers in a hard situation because although they might not agree with their boss, they also are not financially in a good position to go on strike. I heard an example of this on the radio earlier in this year from the WGA strike. A man who was striking with the WGA was talking about his situation. He expressed how he wanted the benefits the strike was fighting for, but he was running into a financial wall. He said his rainy day fund is now gone, and he had to take out loans to put food on the table. This is a modern-day example of why people might be reluctant to join unions or strike.
7. Why did the children in the play have to go to work instead of being in school? How different or similar are those reasons to why children and teens work today?
The kids in the play had to work instead of going to school because they were very poor, sometimes without parents or a home. They had to sell papers to make a living for themselves or try to help their family out. In some cases today, kids also have to work to support their families or themselves. In other cases, kids just work to make money for fun things they want to buy. In my area, many kids have a summer job to save up for college, a car, or other random items they want. Most kids in my area go to school instead of working.
1. Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
Starting on May 2nd of 2023, the WGA, Writers Guild of America, went on strike. The main reasons behind the strike were labor disputes with the AMPTP, Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The main issue writers had was with residuals on streaming services. After the pandemic, a rise in popularity of streaming services came and in order to fairly pay actors for their work, actors would receive residuals on episodes. For every time a film was watched on a streaming service, the actors in it would receive a certain amount of money. The problem came when the writers of this film were not given these benefits. The writers of the films would have put in the same amount of effort, if not more than the actors, but the already underpaid workers wouldn’t earn the benefits of the popularity their work gained. An agreement was reached in September and on October 9, the WGA strike officially ended. The new agreement increased their salary, gave residuals on some platforms, and protected against AI.
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
The WGA strike was similar to the Newsies strike in the way both strikers were forgotten in their industries even though they provided valuable work. The newsies indirectly worked for Pulitzer and were denied certain workplace benefits they believed they should’ve received. Similar to how the WGA fought for fair pay and recognition for being the creative visionaries behind shows.
4. What were some reasons why the Newsies were reluctant to go on strike? How might those reasons influence modern workers to be reluctant to go on strike or join a union?
The Newsies were reluctant to go on strike because of the hardships they would face while striking. They wouldn’t have any source of income and in a day or two they wouldn’t have been able to afford absolute necessities like food. The time period during the strike would be harsher to them than it would have been to Pulitzer, who had wealth saved up that he could use. The Newsies had threats of being physically attacked by goons Pulitzer had if they striked. These concerns are universal among people who consider joining a union/strike because the bottom line comes down to whether they have enough money to survive fighting for their rights, or accept unfair working conditions while still receiving some sort of income.
7. Why did the children in the play have to go to work instead of being in school? How different or similar are those reasons to why children and teens work today?
The children in the show still had to go to work because their families needed the extra income. In the case of half of the Newsies, they didn’t even have families to go to. They would be completely broke if they went to school so school just isn’t a viable option to them. Some didn’t want to be Newsies full time. Davey and his brother Les only became Newsies because their father was participating in the ongoing trolley strike and they had to provide for the family temporarily. It’s roughly the same today. Some people have to drop out of school and get minimum wage jobs to make ends meet.
1. Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
If we take a look at the “2023 Writers Guild Of America Strike.” between the WGA a union of film writers going against the AMPTP a company that represents the producers of shows, movies and films. The leading factor in what caused the strike was that the Union (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) could not reach an agreement on their renewed contract that was both satisfactory for them and failed to even reach a deal before the deadline. Also the poor compensation for writers. The increase of streaming services prompted the WGA to ask for more residuals which then also led them to asking for the limit of using Artificial intelligence when writing, more funding for the writers and better job security. The WGA was concerned with the fact that they weren’t being more compensated with time as streaming service usage rose significantly. Since the WGA doesn’t have any formalities with streaming services they cannot advocate for more pay from them, causing unbalanced salaries compared the people who work for the streaming services who do the same amount of work. Which caused an angered union to finally do something about it and started refusing to go to work. After over 4 months the majority of the WGA agreed to the new contract stated by the AMPTP. In the end, I think the workers won this strike because they got more compensation and more of their demands they advocated for.
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
The strike I researched is similar to the Newsies strike because just like the Newsies the WGA wanted more pay. In the play the Newsies went on strike because Mr Pulitzer raised the prices of newspapers but not the price of Newsies wages compared to other newspaper circulations that went back to their regular prices after the war ended. So newsies had to sell more papers to make the same wage they were making before which was unlivable. Also the threat of getting other Newsies to sell papers to replace them. This caused a spark of anger in the Newsies and decided to go on strike until this was made right and they were paid a livable and fair wage. This is similar to the Writers Strike because they as well were striking for fair wages and for the ability to not be used for half the price of other workers at streaming services and for job security to not be replaced by other workers. Then at the end of each strike they both got what they wanted when it came to compensation and added bonuses of buying papers back for the Newsies and job security for the WGA workers.
4. What were some reasons why the Newsies were reluctant to go on strike? How might those reasons influence modern workers to be reluctant to go on strike or join a union?
The reason some Newsies were reluctant was because it wasn’t guaranteed to win the strike. They were worried that if the strike didn’t succeed they would be out of a job. Since they were already very poor, some couldn’t risk the situation of not having a job and being able to afford food. As little money was still money they could use. So some Newsies were unconvinced. This factor could also be a modern reason workers would be reluctant to go on strike or join a union. With modern day prices and inflation, money is a very big factor in peoples decisions when it comes to striking as some can’t afford going without money for a long time. Even in the long run if it benefits them. This can cause some people to align themselves with the “enemy” because of how important it is for them to have income.
7. Why did the children in the play have to go to work instead of being in school? How different or similar are those reasons to why children and teens work today?
Back then education was not deemed as important as it is today. So if children did not go to school they needed to support their families by working. Families were too poor to afford only having the parents working. It’s different compared to the way children and teens work today because now there are laws in place that prevent the over work of these children today by limiting how many hours a week they can work during school and during summer when their number of hours increases. Also it is now more common for parents wages to be more livable and able to afford comfortably their children and their needs without the help of their kids.
1.
The Screen Actors Guild strike occurred from July 14 to November 9, 2023, and was one of the largest labor walkouts in United States history. The strike included members of the Screen Actors Guild and the Writers Guild of America, the first time both groups went on strike together since 1960. To be part of this strike, the members were not allowed to participate in awards, screen tests, auditions, or any work on or off camera. One of the few things permitted was reality TV and talk shows, as well as some documentaries. The people on strike wanted better pay and working conditions, as well as restrictions, protection, or contracts on the use of AI. Instead of the simple solution of meeting the SAG and WGA’s requests, the executives called their requests “unrealistic” and in a report from Deadline, one executive said they were not planning on meeting their demands, stating they would wait until “union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.” According to WGA’s website, many writers receive minimum pay, getting $4,546 a week for about 20 weeks of employment. With their new contract, they would receive a total combined amount of $429 million a year. The actors wanted higher pay for similar reasons and protection from inflation.
The actor’s strike ended on November 9th as a compromise was reached, giving the actors higher pay and protection against unauthorized use of images created by AI. With the strike ended, it meant actors and writers were able to go back to work. I believe the actors did win the strike, although some of their requests were not fully reached, they did gain more than they lost as a whole, because the pay has increased, and AI had been a major argument that can now be controlled with protocols against using it at times.
2.
This strike has many similarities to the Newsies strike between between 1886 and 1948. In contrast to the newsies strike, the Screen Actors Guild members are not children, nor primarily in New York. The actors are also asking for protocols to control the use of AI, something not as popular in the 19th century (to say the least.) However, both groups want better pay and working conditions, and both groups go on strike together to make their point. As said before, the Screen Actors Guild has certain rules to be a part of the strike, like the inability to participate in awards, screen tests, auditions, or any work on or off camera. This is similar to Newsies, in which to go on strike you could not buy any newspapers. This is shown in the scene in which three kids buy newspapers, and in the end return them, earning them sport in the strike movement. These strikes also have similarities with the executives in Hollywood and Joseph Pulitzer’s newspaper company. In both strikes, neither executive cared about the worker’s well-being, instead waiting for the workers to give up their strike without meeting their requests. In the musical, Pulitzer claims he is teaching the kids a valuable life lesson on economics when in reality is making their lives harder by raising the prices. At the end of the musical, the newsies and Pulitzer come to a compromise, similar to the compromise made by the Hollywood executives to end the actor’s strike.
4.
Many of the newsies were reluctant to form a union because at the time unions required official paperwork and were still in the early stages and many had their suspicions regarding it. Some were also hesitant to go on strike because they needed to make money to survive. For example, the new newsie kids introduced to the others need to make money because their father got fired due to an injury. Other kids are reluctant for similar reasons, many are orphans who need to make money to feed themselves. If they were to go on strike, they would be losing money, with no guarantee of getting what they are on strike for, or even getting their job back at all. Their hesitance to go on strike is similar to modern workers because they too have to put food on the table, as well as pay bills. Going on strike means no income, meaning they would have to get a separate job with something else they most likely are not specialized in, so they would end up not making as much money. Another fear would be the strike failing, and going through the financial struggle for no reason.
7.
Children in the musical had to go to work instead of going to school because they needed to make money either for themselves or for their families, and did not have time to go to school during the day because it limited their time to sell newspapers and make money. Time was of the essence because any newspaper they did not sell was wasted money considering it could not be sold the next day because the news is always changing. This is similar to why children and teens work today because they need to make money to support themselves and their families.
A recent strike I researched was about many Starbucks workers walking out of work on ‘Red Cup Day’. They were upset because there were many staffing issues, improper hours, not proper breaks, and just overall things that did not benefit their working environments. Starbucks was accused of illegally providing previous pay increases and benefits to nonunion employees without offering them to unionized workers. This clearly angered the unionized workers. Also as I said earlier, many of the workers weren’t getting proper working hours or breaks, and they even had staffing issues. There has not been an agreement yet between the two. In a video that I watched about this incident, a worker says that it has been “quiet on their side”. “Their” being Starbucks. The worker also says that he feels Starbucks is rebelling against the workers. The workers felt this way because Starbucks often would not meet with the workers when asked, (would not negotiate with the workers) and would do anything to not meet with them such as stalling, and even appointing another day for them to meet with them. I honestly believe the owners won because they still have not even responded to the situation. It seems as if the strikes were useless and that not much improvement will be done. I also feel that since the workers went on strike on ‘Red Cup Day’, which is one of the busiest days, the strike probably did a lot of damage to the businesses causing them to not make as much profit as they could have. Because of this, the strike could also be a tie between the two. If the workers decide to do walk-outs more often, then they would win this situation but as of now I overall believe the owners are winning so far.
The Starbucks strike was similar to the Newsies strike because both started because they felt they were not being treated fair. These are different because the Newsies strike started because they were being sold short bundles of newspapers also in the play the price of the newspapers increased, while the Starbucks strike was because the workers were not getting proper hours, or breaks and they were not dealing with staffing problems.
The play was pro-union because they organized a whole union because they wanted fair working conditions. The children needed food more than they needed an education. This is different because most teens work so they can buy things that they want like cute clothes or tickets to a concert while the newsies worked so they could survive.
1. The strike that I chose to research was the Writers (WGA) and Actors strike that recently ended. The reason for the strikes was because of the changes to the entertainment environment due to streaming. Another reason for the strike is that writers were working a minimum pay regardless of experience and the working environment was not a great environment. Budgets had also soared but the writers and actors/actresses still weren’t getting a raise since there was a skyrocket in streaming and budgets. Another reason is both writers and actors have been fighting for contracts that prevent an AI from replacing them at their jobs, whether it’s writing scripts or appearing as a background actor. The Writer’s strike ended in September, and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) strike lasted until November 9. One of the reasons for the strike was because of the changes to the entertainment environment because of the amount of streaming. The WGA strike lasted till an email came out on September 24 that WGA leaders agreed with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). On October 9th, the members of WGA took a vote that was almost unanimously yes to end the WGA strike. Meanwhile, the SAG strike didn’t end till a month later November 9th a minute after midnight at 12:01. The economic effect during the strike ended up being passed $5 billion that was lost. As of right now, the writers have won their strike as well as the actors winning their strike. Question 2, one difference between the two strikes is that in both strikes are that the entertainment industry wasn’t willing to pay the actors and writers more with the skyrocket of budget that they had gotten, and for the Newsies strike, the newspaper publishers were greedy and wanted more money for the newspaper than what it was originally. So in the writers and actors strike, the workers were the ones on strike and wanted more money because there was a skyrocket in the budget, and in the Newsies strike, the rich were the ones who wanted to up the prices of the newspapers to get more money. One similarity between the strikes is that they both stopped working because people were greedy and not willing to share money so they would get more money. Question 3, the women’s role had changed especially during the war since most of the men were off at war, the women had to run the shops and stores as well as take care of the children. In 1776, Abigail Adams told her husband, John Adams, to “Remember the ladies” while John and other men were working on the Declaration of Independence. But John responded with humor and had then put in the Declaration that “all men are created equal” and didn’t include women. In short, the women were a bit more respected after the war since they did well in keeping the towns running while the men were gone. Question 6, the play was pro-union. In one scene, when Jack Kelley was planning on going on strike, Davey had to help him create a union for the strike to work.
#1. The SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) strike started in July of this year and ended November 9th. The artists went on strike for a couple of reasons, the main two being wages and the use of A.I. They wanted rules to be set in place against the use of an artist’s likeness without compensation or permission. They also went on strike for higher wages based on streams, audiences reached, as well as a higher number and compensation for background actors. On November 9th the organization came to an agreement with Hollywood studios, with the guild saying the agreement was a breakthrough in protecting actors wages and likeness with use of A.I. The workers definitely won in this strike because they got everything they wanted and improved their working lives and protected themselves significantly. Putting in percent increases on pay periodically and having the producers of content disclose viewership stats for the actors to assess their wages accordingly.
#2. The strike was both similar and different from the Newsies strike. One reason it was different is because the artists already had a union and had been in a union since its creation in 2012, whereas the Newsies had to unionize themselves before going on strike. However it was similar because the Newsies and the artists both had public rallies in support of their strikes. For example the San Francisco SAG-AFTRA Strike Rally was held on July 26th. It lasted for an hour and was held on the steps of San Francisco City Hall. In the play, the Newsies gathered below Pulizers office and rallied, forcing him to see Jack Kelly who argued in favor of the Newsies rights and wages. Whereas it was different because the Newsies were reacting directly to a pay decrease and the SAG-AFTRA strike wasn’t a direct reaction to a specific action.
#4. The Newsies were worried about going on strike because many of them were the only reason their families could eat. Davey and Les for example, were the only ones providing for their family after their dad got laid off because of an accident. Jack was also providing for himself. He told Crutchy his dad had the life worked out of him and he had no folks anywhere. On top of that he also was working hard to provide for other orphaned Newsies. Which was most of them. If these Newsies didn’t get paid they wouldn’t get to eat, or sleep anywhere. Not only that, there was the constant fear of the Refuge imprisoning them if they couldn’t get food or stay anywhere at night. Some of these reasons are still prevalent today, such as not being able to provide for yourself or your family if you’re not paid for an unknown amount of time. If it goes on for long enough children can be taken away from their families by Child Protective Services if the parents are deemed unfit to provide.
#6. The play was pro-union. They emphasized in the beginning how the Newsies had to be a union to go on strike. Davey specifically, was the brains behind the organization. He told everyone what was needed to become a union and he told them that they’d be unable to strike without a union. Then, at the end of the play, they won and got even more pay than they had before. As well as new benefits for themselves, such as Pulitzer having to buy back whatever they couldn’t sell. With the benefits shown and the general uplifting mood of the unionization and strike, the play emphasizes that unions are a very important part of labor in America.
1. Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
Concerning the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) strike that began in May of this year, there were a few main criticisms members had of the current system. These included higher royalties, higher residual payments, staffing of writing rooms, and protection against AI. Shows and movies have continued to become increasingly popular over the years, especially on streaming platforms, yet writers’ income has not reflected this at all. In fact, due to shorter seasons on shows, writers are being paid even less for their work on a project. Additionally, with the steady rise in the cost of living, writers found it difficult to simply exist with the wages they were receiving. After four, almost five, months of striking, the dispute was finally settled, with the workers receiving new benefits such as higher pay, biannual meetings to discuss AI usage, and minimum staffing in writers’ rooms. All in all, the workers seem to have won in this case, achieving many of the goals they set for themselves with this venture.
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
With the newsies’ strike in 1899, it was much harder to get word around to other workers. As seen in the first deli scene and “Seize the Day”, news had to be spread exclusively by word of mouth and was very unreliable. Additionally, the union wasn’t as established, so the sections of newsies had little pre-existing solidarity between them. It was extremely hard to convince others to join the strike, almost forcing the Manhattan newsies to give up altogether. Contrastingly, news of the WGA strike instantly spread like wildfire over social media, with everyone immediately joining as soon as they heard. Those who refused to comply with the union’s guidelines were shunned and looked down upon, which is one similarity shared with Newsies. In “Seize the Day”, audiences see that the three scabs are almost viciously beaten up by the striking newsies, narrowly escaping that fate when the strike leaders step in to defend them. However, they are still convinced to join the strike by all the kids involved, eventually becoming a part of the union.
3. How had women’s roles changed in the time period we have been studying (1491-1840s)? Provide some specifics.
For centuries in the Americas, women were looked down upon and only allowed to work for the household. After their contribution to the Revolutionary War, however, the movement of Republican motherhood began to stress the necessity of women’s education to cultivate righteous future generations. Later on, the emergence of industrialization would bring a whole new aspect to women’s freedom. New, though rare, opportunities such as work at the Lowell mill popped up for women during this time, allowing them to finally work for their own individual money, though it wasn’t much. They also had to deal with horrible working conditions at times, but the economic independence made the experience worth it for many.
6. Was the play pro or anti union? Explain why with specific examples from the play.
The musical Newsies is clearly pro-union in its presentation of the events of the newsies’ strike in 1899. The characters’ portrayal is a huge hint as to how the writer interpreted the situation, with Pulitzer being shown as a money-hungry, cruel man and the newsies as unfortunate yet lively kids making the most of their position in the world. The script is especially written to generate empathy for main character and newsie leader, Jack Kelly, and his love interest, reporter Katherine Pulitzer, rather than those who caused the raise in prices. One specific scene that drives home the pro-union sentiment is the song “The World Will Know”. Here, audiences watch the newsies rally around Jack as they vow to make every newspaper executive in the city hear their cries for equal treatment and fair pay. Additionally, the strength they show as a group in numbers like “Seize the Day” and “Brooklyn’s Here” further delivers the message in support of unions as viewers watch their development and bonding through the strike. Lastly, the reaction to Jack’s anti-union rhetoric forced upon him by Pulitzer is the final point endorsing unions. The newsies feel betrayed by their leader, yet still keep their strength and fight until the very end when their win is announced. Their success proves that unions are worth it and serve a very important purpose for workers nationwide.
1)From the dates of July 14th, 2023 up until November 9th, 2023, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (Sag Aftra) has been on strike. Sag Aftra is a combination of two unions that fight and secure protections for Media Artists (DJ’s, News Editors, News writers etc…). The workers protected by Sag Aftra have been on strike for higher wages and better working conditions, aswell as protections against the use of actor images through Artificial Intelligence and better retirement and health bonus’. Covid aswell as the rise of Artificial Intelligence caused the strike, since many studio’s refused to have humans produce scripts for movies and instead wanted to replace them with robots. Despite the CEO of Disney believing the strikers weren’t being “realistic” and that a strike after Covid was an unwise decision, the strike ended in the workers’ favor with 86% voting “yes’ ‘ to ratify the contracts desired by the workers.
2)The Sag Aftra strike and the Newsies strike are similar because in both cases the people striking were doing it because of money. The Newsies were striking because of a rise in Newspaper costs meanwhile, one of the causes Sag Aftra was fighting for, was for better pay for the workers. They are different because the Newsies did not have a union to help them fight, meanwhile Sag Aftra is a union that fights for workers.
3)In Newsies, Katherine Plumber who is the daughter of Mr. Pulitzer plays a central role in the play. She is a reporter who is very interested in what the Newsies are fighting for and publishes stories about them. Despite her father being in the opposition of the Newsies she still fights for them. I feel as though this shows how women’s roles had changed from 1491 to the late 1800’s because women were able to use their voice and have their own opinion by sharing their thoughts through reporting. Also, in many families, fathers were seen as having the most authority and the rest of the family did as he said, but Katherine show’s how that had changed too and families were not always structured in that way.
4)The Newsies were most likely reluctant to strike because they did not have much power as Mr. Pulitzer and were very poor. They were only young children and many of them were orphans, so they did not have much except for each other. The same reasons might make people today also feel uncomfortable to go on strike, because someone in a higher position with more power can simply fire them, so instead they would rather just remain quiet to keep their job.
1. The SAG AFTRA strike that took place between July 14 to November 9, 2023 was a strike done by actors and script writers who were fighting for better pay, better working conditions, and better contracts to face the threats that artificial intelligence has brought them. If you recall the reasons that were listed about why the trolley workers striked form the World Will Know scene, better pay and better working conditions were two of the reasons that they striked, as well. Economics were a portion of why the SAG AFTRA workers striked, due to the fact that they weren’t being payed appropriately, especially with the inflation prices in mind, but, their strike caused many economic problems, as well, due to the fact that they quite literally made it so that television was being kept on hold for around 4-5 months. The companies that the SAG AFTRA workers worked with finally agreed to appropriate contracts, which caused the strike to finally end on Novermber 9th, 2023, making it seem like the workers won the strike. It seems like they won, due to the fact that they received the handful of things that they wanted and they are now back to working.
2. While the Newsies strike did happen around 100 years ago, there are some visible similarities between the SAG AFTRA strike and the Newsies’ strike. To start off with, they both shut down entire businesses, in SAG AFTRA’s case, they shut down Hollywood, essentially, and the News Boys Union shut down all newspaper industries that sold The World’s papers, but they eventually shut down the entire city of New York to finally convince Pulitzer to bring the prices back to a reasonable level. Fun fact that I think is pretty cool: Pulitzer fought in the Civil War.He was from Hungary and really wanted to help fight people, so, he signed up for a lot of military stuff, got rejected by 3 or 4, before he applied to go to the U.S. and he was accepted. Pulitzer was then put in a regimen that only had Hungarian people in it, so, he didn’t learn any English, until after the war was over and he moved to New York to start his newspaper industry. Sorry. Back to the strikes, they also had a decent amount of differences. To start off with, the News Boys Union was treated with aggression and hostility, due to the fact that it was much more acceptable to do that back then than it is now and the government also ended up getting involved. Neither of those happened with the SAG AFTRA union, they just mainly politely protested and waited until their employers got desperate enough to finally agree to their wants/needs.
6. Newsies was portrayed to be a fairly pro-union musical, mainly due to the events of The World Will Know. Before the song even begins, there is a scene where Jack Kelly is trying to figure out what he’s going to do to make sure that the Newsies don’t need to pay more than the original price, and has decided on striking. His accomplice, Davey, is explaining the logistics of striking, and one of his points as to why the Newsies can’t strike is because they weren’t a union. So, he lists off the requirements to be a union at the time, memberships, statement of purpose, and leaders. When Jack figures out a way to fill in all of those spaces, the remainder of the musical is spent with the Newsies essentially banded together, forming the News Boys Union, as Davey states. They end up winning their strike and the prices go back to being affordable and considerate of the News Boys Union members.
7. As stated by multiple characters since the opening number, Carrying the Banner, the Newsies are children/teens that are working on the streets selling newspapers to support themselves and their families, blood related and not. They worked for money to be able to provide for themselves and others because they didn’t have parents that could provide for them. This is fairly different compared to how it is nowadays, considering most kids and teenagers work because they want to have money to spend on things that they enjoy, things that aren’t considered necessary, and also to prepare themselves for workforces they’ll have to go into later in life.
1. Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
The strike that I have decided to research is the SAG-AFTRA strike that took place from July 14, 2023 until November 9, 2023. This strike was between the American Actor’s Union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The reason that the actor’s union went on strike was because they did not believe that the new contract that was being offered to them by the AMPTP was giving them fair wages or labor hours, and because they could not reach a fair agreement on either side, the actors went on strike. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a boom in the amount of people that were paying for streaming services, but also a decrease in new television shows and movies coming out. During this time actors and writers wages were not adjusted. The time after this we also saw a very large increase in demand for new television productions which therefore made the work of actors more severe. This strike was resolved on November 9, 2023 when the actors guild reached an agreement with the AMPTP, and on November 8, 2023 it was officially announced that the strike would be ending. I think that the actors won in this situation because through their hard work and protesting they were able to get the fair wages and labor hours that they needed from the AMPTP.
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
One way that the SAG-AFTRA strike was similar to the Newsies strike was that both of these strikes consisted of the working party striking for fair wages for their work. In the case of the Newsies they were striking for fair pay for their delivery of newspapers. While in the SAG-AFTRA strike they were striking for fair pay for their work of acting in films and television shows. But, one thing that was not in the Newsies strike that was a concern in the SAG-AFTRA was the actors’ fear of technology and AI taking over their work, or making their jobs less profitable. This was a concern that was lacking from the Newsies strike due to the time period that it took place in (1899).
3. How had women’s roles changed in the time period we have been studying (1491-1840s)? Provide some specifics.
There were many ways that women’s roles changed during the time period between 1491 and the 1840s. But, the biggest change that took place was the respect that women gained in politics, the work force, and outside of the home in general. During the 1490s and early 1500s women had very very little if any opportunity to work outside the home, they were expected to and basically forced to stay in the home and take on the role of mother, cook, maid, and take on all the responsibilities of taking care of the household. We began to see that as colonial life began to evolve, so did the establishment of typical gender roles. But, during war when the men went off to war during the Revolutionary War the women had to keep the home and businesses running, when they did this successfully the women gained more respect from the men, but no major change was made to their rights. That was until the late 1840s when the women’s rights movement began, which was one their first major events of voicing their want for equal rights and respect from men.
6. Was the play pro or anti union? Explain why with specific examples from the play.
This play was pro union, I think this because there is one scene where Jack Kelly is talking about how he wants to be able to fight against the people who are taking advantage of the Newsies and their, at the time, willingness to do so much work for so little pay. Davey then suggested to Jack that he form a union with the Newsies where they could go on strike and fight for their right to fair pay and treatment from the people at the newspaper company. The play also showed the union winning the strike, which shows to the audience that unions can help a group of workers get the rights that they deserve in the workplace.
The strike that I found and looked into was the 2022 United States railroad labor dispute. In this event they went on strike because the railroad companies eliminated any free time that the worker had and made them be on call for weeks at a time. Workers were complaining that it caused high stress. This made it so that they could not take any time off even for family emergencies or if themselves were ill. In January 2022 a system came into place where they had 30 points to start and every day they missed would deduct 1 point, and if they were on call for 14 days straight they could gain 4 points. But, if there was a gap in the 14 days, the clock would restart and the points would not be given unless the days were with no breaks. The workers went on strike because of how bad the pay was, and the awful terms of taking days off. Sense COVID-19 the conditions had worsened because they needed people to work and people kept getting sick, then weren’t getting paid for the days they were missing. The strike was resolved by president Joe Biden in the summer of 2022 when he raised pay by 4%-7% with one extra day off with pay and annual $1,000 bonuses. I do think that the workers won because they made it big and got people to listen to their statements and got more money and days off.
I would say that this strike and the Newsies strike are very different. In the Newsies strike they wanted the price of papers reduced so they could buy and sell them. It had nothing to do with how much they were making. In the Newsies strike the price of 100 newspapers went from 50 cents to 60 cents and the kids were not happy because that was a lot of money difference back then and they were the ones doing all the hard work by selling the papers. In the railroad labor dispute they wanted their pay check to be increased and wanted days off because of how much they were working.
5.) In the play Newsies Joseph Pulitzer is one of the men that own the newspaper company that sells the newspapers to the newsies. Pulitzer exercises his wealth and power towards Jack Kelly because he makes an offer to pay Jack a salary if Jack doesn’t do the strike and goes back to work. He uses his power to try and give Jack an offer that he knows he can’t refuse because of how little money he has. We see this today when people high up in the companies offer money to people lower because they think that’s all they want instead of justice.
7.) The children in the play Newsies had to work instead of go to school because they had to provide for themselves. Most of the children that worked did not have parents to help provide food and shelter for them, so they had to do and make a living for themselves. It is very different then how things are today because most teens work to save money for either college or things that they are saving up for that they want on the side. Most parents nowadays can provide for their children so when teens work that is their money to spend on whatever but their parents still feed and clothe them as they grow up.
Newsies blog
1, Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why. I feel like the writers strike of 2023 is a pretty big and important strike that has happened recently. The main reasons the workers went on strike was to protest the replacement of writers with AI and to protest the residuals that many writers were getting from shows on streaming services. The writers who were writing for a show that was on the streaming service got paid not that much money to have their show streamed millions of times. The recent advancement into AI to make replace jobs since you can easily write an essay or in this case a script which was a big factor in the strike as it could make changes to the writers wages. The entire duration of the strike the writers gave the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers(the people controlling how much money the writers get) the amount they wanted to get paid to stop the strike. On Tuesday, September 26th 2023, the writers voted to end the strike thanks to the new agreements that the Writers and AMPTP voted on. I think the writers won the strike because they were the ones who striked until the AMPTP had to change their rules but at the same time they were the ones who gave up the most. Many writers lost their jobs and couldn’t pay off rent but the big executives billionaires did not lose that much in retrospect to how much their net worth is. Still I think the writers won and fought hard for their new rules for writers.
2, How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined. Both the play and the strike had to give up something in order to strike. In the play, Davey and Les had to give up getting money to pay their family and their dad who can’t work and had to sacrifice their job in order to strike. Many of the WGA also had to give up their writers gigs and opportunities to write in order to strike. It’s different because the newsies also made sure everyone knew about the protest by walking by foot and receiving the news from all the other burrows in New York. The people who took part in the writers strike mostly heard from social media and heard other writers talk about it on social media.
6. Was the play pro or anti union? Explain why with specific examples from the play.
The play was very pro-union. One example is when Jack asks Davey if they are a union since they are going on strike. Also just the whole entire song “The World Will Know Davey mentions “were a union now, The Newsboy union. We have to start acting like one” and mentions multiple other times in the song how the newsies are a union and need to stick together. There is also an example where the newsies stop some people from selling papers to join their union.
5. In the play, how did Pulitzer exercise his wealth and power to try and get Jack Kelly to undermine the strike? How can we see this exercise of wealth and power used by businesses and CEOs to squash strikes and unions today?
Pulitzer said that he will clear all charges of Jack’s crimes and pay him a ticket to go to Sante Fe(Jack’s dream place to live, there is even a whole song in the play about it). All he has to do is tell the newsies to stop and call off the strike. If Jack doesn’t do this, all the newsies including Jack will be put in the Refuge(where Crunchie was living, known for its abuse and terrible conditions). Many people who go on strikes or belong to a union are people who want to be protected from someone higher up in their company doing something unfair or taking advantage of them. Unions create power since there are a lot of people and can cause a lot of damage. Many CEOs and Businesses have a lot more money and can handle a strike going on for a long time compared to the people who are on the strike who can’t go on for as long and depend on the money from their jobs. Ceos like the ones who are in Hollywood and own production companies are not very affected by strikes because they don’t have much to lose since their net worth is so high. This leaves an unfair advantage for the strikers who depend on the money their job gives them and don’t have as much money as the wealthy CEOs.
1. Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
One recent strike is the Starbucks Red Cup Day strike. On this day, Starbucks gives out free reusable red cups to anyone who buys a drink, this causes huge amounts of work for employees and this year 200+ Starbucks’ went on strike. Over the past few years, the concept of mobile ordering has increased significantly, causing one of the main issues that workers are having: there is no way to turn down mobile orders so they get bombarded with orders that they can not handle and the problem is invisible to customers in store who see an empty shop and wonder why it is taking so long. In addition, as the cost of living is increasing, pay is not. As of right now, they have not come to a resolution and the company is winning because their revenue is still increasing.
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and/or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
This strike is very similar to the Newsies because the workers have very little power alone. Due to the size of Starbucks and the number of workers, people going on strike do not have a very large impact on the success of the company. Despite having over 300 strikes with over 457,000 strikers, the company is still functioning fine. This relates to the Newsies because until they got everyone to be on their side by convincing Brooklyn and stopping the scabs, they had practically no impact on Pulitzer.
4. What were some reasons why the Newsies were reluctant to go on strike? How might those reasons influence modern workers to be reluctant to go on strike or join a union?
In the show, one of the Newsies Finch was the first to express concerns about a strike, as around the same time, trolley workers were striking and were being beaten up by cops and the Newsies did not want to face that. This fear gets reinstated when they start getting beat up and Jack’s best friend Crutchie gets taken to the refuge, Jack gets a letter talking about how horrible she was being treated. The final reason why the Newesies were worried about the strike was that Pulitzer, the guy in charge could go a long time without making money but the Newsies couldn’t so they became replaceable. Most of the concerns that the Newsies had are similar to the ones people have today. According to the National Labor Relations Board, there are two types of strikes, economic and unfair labor. The Newsies strike was similar to a modern economic strike and because of that, the concern of being replaced is very real and legal. Unlike the Newsies, strikers today can get paid, by their union but it is still rough as their income has decreased significantly and they stop receiving health care from their companies, something that is nearly impossible to survive without especially when not getting paid.
7. Was the play pro or anti-union? Explain why with specific examples from the play.
Starting in Newsies Square, when the price went up to 60c per hundred papers, the Newsies were pro-union. Throughout the show, the newsies use the power of their union to stand up to the scabs, the cops, Pulitzer, Snyder, and Weisel. They also used the fact that they stood up to all of those people to prove to the Brooklyn Newsies that they would not back down in the face of trouble. Once all of the Newsies were on board with the union, they used their power combined with that of Governor Roosevelt to convince Pulitzer to come to a compromise helping the lives of the Newsies. This shows that the musical as a whole has a pro-union message because the only way they succeed is by coming together.
https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-strike-red-cup-day-7c07617260ea1c4760410e29b4509b6b
https://www.nlrb.gov/strikes#:~:text=If%20the%20object%20of%20a,be%20replaced%20by%20their%20employer.
#1) The strike I decided to research was the Starbucks strike that occurred on November 16th, 2023. More than 200 U.S Starbucks locations walked off their jobs on Thursday, making this the largest strike in a 2 year old effort to unionize the company’s store. More than 5,000 workers chose “Red Cup Day” to stage a walkout, due to the fact that it’s the busiest day of the year. One main reason why these workers went on strike is because of how understaffed, and underpaid they are. Juniper Schweitzer, who has worked for Starbucks for 16 years stated, “I mean, you can imagine the Starbucks orders. Decaf grande non-fat, three-and-a-half Splenda mocha with no whip. Multiply that by 100 and you have just drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink,” she said. “We just have basically an infinite amount of drinks and we’re understaffed and we’re underpaid and we’re sick of it.” As inflation has risen so has the struggle for workers to cover costs of basic necessities. Atchley, another starbucks worker, said she often struggles to pay her rent and buy food on her Starbucks paycheck, even though she lives outside the city. Inflation however is just one of the economic reasons why starbucks workers think they are owed higher wages. Another one is Starbucks’ success over the years, as their income has increased dramatically, puzzling the question, why are workers wages the same if Starbucks has been profiting more than ever? While this strike has been going on for a while it seems as if a solution is still years away. To say the strike was “resolved” is far from the truth as it’s still ongoing and the possibility for change is still there. However, the strikes have had little impact on Starbucks’ sales. For its 2023 fiscal year, which ended Oct. 1, Starbucks reported its revenue rose 12% to a record $36.0 billion. Starbucks said Thursday that many of the stores with striking workers remained open, staffed by supervisors, managers and employees who chose not to strike or visited from nearby stores to pick up additional hours. Not only this but Starbucks customers seem to be the most loyal and unrelenting in their love for the company. As award members have only grown and still make Red Cup Day the busiest day. To say the owners have won this strike is to diminish the workers’ hope in change. While their efforts are impressive it may have not led to a huge detriment in the company.
#2) The Newsies strike in 1899 was led by many children and teenagers like Kid Blink. While Starbucks of course is not run by kids and teenagers, the majority of their workers on strike are relatively young. Kid Blink criticized Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, we see this with today’s workers criticizing Starbucks as a company. While in Newsies it was the raise in prices for newspapers, for Starbucks unions it was the unwavering low wages they were paid. However the raise in newspapers also cut into the newsboys wages making them frustrated in their earnings just like the Starbucks workers. Despite these differences there is one thing that remains similar not just in this strike but in many others. Due to insufficient pay both these workers suffer/suffer from not being able to provide for themselves and their families. Not being able to afford food, or housing. A Starbucks worker mentioned this struggle in the question beforehand. A character that recognizes these struggles is Sam. He was the main money maker for his family, the price hikes however made it impossible for him to sell the amount of newspapers he used to.
#3) From the beginning women have always been treated lesser than men and viewed as un-valuable. However, Enlightenment thinkers promoted ideas about human rights and equality, it laid the groundwork for early feminist thoughts. Writers like Mary Wollstonecraft advocated for women’s education and equal rights. With the rise of industrialization, there was a shift from agrarian economies to industrial economies. Women’s roles in the workforce changed, with many entering factories and mills, particularly in textile industries. An example of this is the Lowell girls. Many young women who decided to make their own financial decisions for the first time by working in factories. The factory system provided new economic opportunities for some women, but working conditions were often harsh, and labor activism began to emerge. The rise of the middle class saw a shift in women’s roles toward domesticity, where their primary role was seen as maintaining the home and raising children. The 19th century saw the emergence of the first wave of feminism. Women began advocating for legal and political rights, including suffrage. The Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 marked a significant event in the early feminist movement in the United States. Over the centuries, social norms around women’s roles in society began to shift, influenced by intellectual movements, economic changes, and evolving cultural attitudes.
#4) Many Newsies were from low-income backgrounds and depended on their daily earnings to survive. The prospect of losing income during a strike would have been a significant concern for them. The Newsies were mainly children and teenagers, lacking experience in collective bargaining or understanding the potential consequences of a strike. They may have been uncertain about the effectiveness of their actions. The Newsies did not initially have a well-established organization or union backing their efforts. The absence of collective support and resources might have made them hesitant to take collective action. Newsies operated independently on street corners, and the sense of solidarity necessary for action was not present at first. Overcoming this sense of isolation can be a challenge for workers considering strikes. Modern workers, especially those with financial responsibilities, may also be reluctant to go on strike due to the potential loss of income and benefits. In some cases, workers may not be fully aware of their labor rights or may lack experience in organizing just like the kids were. Workers in industries with limited union presence may feel isolated in their ideas and lack the organizational support, just like the newsboys felt before they recognized others felt the same.
1. Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
On December 2, 2021, Major League Baseball (MLB) went into lockout for the 5th time. This was because the league itself, and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) could not reach an agreement on the terms of the most recent collective bargaining agreement (CBA) before it expired. CBA’s are contracts between the MLB and MLBPA that decide the rules of the sport, and how money is used/distributed. Problems in creating a new CBA were rooted in disagreements about job security, teams intentionally being bad, general money distribution, and many other issues. The largest issue was that many bad teams, especially with owners that didn’t want to have a high payroll, were dropping and trading away good players simply because their contracts were too high. In the tumultuous economy that was/is post-covid America, return on investment isn’t guaranteed, especially with a sports franchise that depends on tens of thousands of people being able to afford a ticket every game for a whole summer. Owners would rather try to get good players for cheap through the draft than try to buy a good team. On March 10, 2022, an agreement was reached, with clauses such as adding a draft lottery to ensure that the worst teams won’t necessarily get the best picks, more roster spots, an expansion of the playoffs, and incentives to play rookies/players on rookie contracts. The strike was resolved because with the MLB season looming, the owners were forced to meet the demands of the MLBPA to ensure all profits weren’t lost. I believe that the players won in this case, because they got many of their demands without sacrificing the baseball season, maximizing their earnings.
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
A similarity between the MLB strike of 2022 and the Newsies strike of 1899 is that the movements were run by young people, 6-20 years old in the Newsies, and 19-40 years old in the case of the MLB. While there is a clear difference between these two age groups, the important factor is the similar difference in age, as Joseph Pultizer was 52 in 1899, while the average MLB owner today has an age in the 70s. In both of these examples, the old, almost aristocratic owners of the companies/franchises who have spent years accumulating their wealth have all the power over the young people who had to fight to get their job, yet they still depend on the young people for their money. A massive difference, however, was the economic situation of the unionizers. In the Newsies, many kids were homeless, and only ate what their daily profit margins could allow for. The MLB players, on the other hand, make anywhere from $720,000 dollars a year to $43,000,000. The MLB players had no issue not being paid for 3 and a half months, but many Newsies couldn’t afford to not work a single day. There are a few similarities between the strikes, but the economic disparities, and the necessity of the Newsies strike make them not very similar events.
4. What were some reasons why the Newsies were reluctant to go on strike? How might those reasons influence modern workers to be reluctant to go on strike or join a union?
In the play, many Newsies were reluctant to go on strike because they lived paycheck to paycheck every day, and missing one day of work meant they wouldn’t be able to eat. Strikes today can last months, or longer, all while the people in the unions have to struggle with payments for mortgages, taxes, gas, food, utilities, and more. It is very incentivized to join a union if it means one will be under crippling debt when the crisis is over.
7. Why did the children in the play have to go to work instead of being in school? How different or similar are those reasons to why children and teens work today?
In the play, none of the Newsies went to school, even though public education was available. This was because they were all abandoned by their parents in some fashion, kicking them out, or being orphaned, so in a time before foster care was widely available, the only option was to work. They had to eat, and if they went to school, they wouldn’t be able to. This is similar in some ways to teenagers working today, depending on the motive for getting a job. Many teenagers get jobs to help their parents pay bills, and stay in their home, some sadly even dropping out of high school to work full-time. Other teenagers have jobs merely to have extra money to buy things like food or clothes. The people that have jobs out of necessity are similar to the Newsies, however they still often go to school. Because of child labor laws, welfare, and foster care systems, it is very rare to see an elementary school child on the street hustling to feed themselves.
Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
Strike: The HarperCollins Strike (The only Big Five publishing house to be unionized)
Why: Strikers wanted a raise in wages and an increase in diversity in the workplace
Economic/Social Cause: The publishing industry is 76% white, and as such creates a destructive cycle where some books may be chosen that appeal to a single experience over others. In addition, the pandemic created a drive for new reading material, but towards the end (last half of 2022) it became more and more expensive to publish books, and naturally workers wanted their salaries raised ($5,000 more). Even with the rush of COVID-19 orders, salaries had not seen a pay increase until the union demanded it.
Resolution: February 9th- HarperCollins reluctantly agreed to raise salaries and give all union employees a $1,500 bonus.
Who Won?: This is a difficult question to answer specifically with this particular strike. Did HarperCollins employees get what they asked for? Well, not totally. HarperCollins did agree to meet union demands, but over some time, meaning that they would eventually meet the bargain cost of $50,000 in 2025. However the living wage in New York City is roughly 57,000, and it’s important to account for the fact that inflation will continue to rise over the coming years. When it reaches that point in 2025, the living minimum wage will also have risen, so now another strike may be in order because that still will not be standard enough. In a way, it’s almost as if HarperCollins has won. They realized that they would have eventually needed to raise the price that they were paying individuals regardless, and decided to agree to the terms in a pseudo-correct fashion to not draw attention to this quite major flaw in their argument (such as the early $1,500 bonus).
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
There are tons of similarities between the two strikes! For one, each group’s demands were met, but not to the full extent that they could have been. The Newsies didn’t receive a lower paper cost, but they were guaranteed that every paper they did not sell would be bought back in full. That’s similar to the HarperCollins strike where money would eventually come into worker’s pockets, but not meet the expected and reasonable requests of the strike. Another similarity (and difference at the same time!) is the people who supported each strike. Writers, The Authors Guild, and literary agents agreed to impose a semi-strike on HarperCollins as well, deciding to boycott and cease work for the duration of the strike. The Newsies had influential supporters too! In the musical, Theodore Roosevelt is shown to directly contact Pulitzer for change. This isn’t based on real-life events, as he wasn’t ever involved in the strike at all. However, citizens sided with the Newsies and boycotted papers, even if the Newsies selling them weren’t taking part in the strike! Both also picketed outside the corporate offices of Pulitzer and HarperCollins using banners and signs to alert people of the scandal.
The duration of the time is a significant difference, but consider the lines of work. HarperCollins (3 months) is a publishing company giant. The World and the Journal were newspapers that made money day by day. Keeping this into account, a company that sees profit immediately vs. one that would take a while to see the deficits would last for a shorter period (and the Newsies strike lasted for only two weeks). The method of news on the strike was also different. In today’s world, organizing a strike means simply contacting union heads, creating a team, and coming up with ways to protest for just treatment on the job (or taking it to a union vote, with roughly 95% of people voting in favor), in Newsies, Jack, Davey, and Katherine use one of Pulitzer’s old printing presses to spread the word to all the Newsies and people of New York about the strike. Because a lot of methods of communication we have today weren’t present then, the musical also details how newsies went out to different boroughs and let people know about the strike (such as Spot Conlin of Brooklyn) in addition to publishing the flier (the Newsies’ Banner).
Another big difference (I won’t go into it too much!): UNIONS! Newsies didn’t have a union already established, while HarperCollins workers did.
In the play, how did Pulitzer exercise his wealth and power to try and get Jack Kelly to undermine the strike? How can we see this exercise of wealth and power used by businesses and CEOs to squash strikes and unions today?
Jack in the middle of the show lost hope in the union. Granted, this wasn’t because he thought it wasn’t an important cause to fight for, but because he was concerned about the rest of the newsies ending up like Crutchie (taken to the Refuge). Then, for a second time, he tells all of the New York newsies to disband, thinking that they can’t win against Pulitzer’s prestige. Then, Jack reveals he’s accepted the money Pulitzer gave for him to go to Santa Fe, and the other newsies feel betrayed. Unbeknownst to them however, Pulitzer threatened to throw all of the newsies (including Jack) in the Refuge if the strike continued, and Jack decided to save everyone and give up the fight instead. Eventually, Jack is convinced by Katherine to keep up the fight, but Pulitzer’s corruption is all too evident by now.
To this day, corporations attempt to hire union busters who either spy on unions or convince the union to otherwise not take action. Companies will also threaten union members with lower pay or in extreme cases fire union members in an attempt to keep unions quiet. Both practices are against the law, but they persist. The Newsies example is significant because it directly preyed upon the very organizer of the union and an influential figure in general. Unions also try to bribe certain members, and this has survived from 1899 to the present day (Kid Blink is a perfect example of this from the real-life Newsies strike, who relinquished his leadership position after bribery accusations).
Was the play pro or anti-union? Explain why with specific examples from the play.
Without a doubt, I’d claim that the play was pro-union. All of the things newsies were fighting for would have been easier and more attainable had there been a union already existing. The National Labor Relations Board exists because of the unethical practices of many companies and is willing to take cases to court, like the raising of prices for papers. This notwithstanding, the newsie cause can be sympathized with, while the corporate bigwigs and adults of the world (Warden Snyder, the Delancey Brothers, Pulitzer, Hearst) are written to be cruel, conniving, and even violent when the newsies resist direct orders. Audiences are almost immediately on the newsies’ side in the “David vs. Goliath” (as Katherine puts it) fight for workplace rights. The newsies had all the qualities necessary for a union, just not the official contract. At one point in the show they discuss forming a union, but someone (Davey?) adds that there’s an official procedure for being declared a union, not just a verbal declaration. In the end, the newsies win, and it’s only because they used union tactics (and a little bit of political pull from Roosevelt) to firmly state their case.
1. Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
The strike I researched was the United Auto Workers strike. They went on strike for a pay raise, a shorter work week, better healthcare, cost of living adjustments, and an end to wage tiers. Before the strike, some workers were working sixty to eighty hours a week. The strike ended on October 30th, 2023. The strike was resolved by General Motors increasing the pay for their veteran workers by 33% and giving $2,500 to retirees in five payments through 2028. Also, the president of the UAW, Shaun Fain, said that some workers at GM’s component operations will get pay increases up to 89%. The contract that was negotiated between the UAW and GM also restricts lower paid temporary workers. The UAW also gained more of a say in the company’s decisions by gaining the right to strike over future plant closes. I believe the United Auto Workers won the strike because they gained a new contract, which raises their pay.
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
The United Auto Workers strike was similar to the Newsies strike in 1899 because both of them were over money issues. They also both were successful strikes. The Newsies and the United Auto Workers both got what they wanted. The newsboys got the price of the papers lowered down from sixty cents back to fifty, and the UAW got a new contract with better pay and better working conditions. They were different because of the industries involved. The United Auto Workers worked in the automotive industry and the Newsies sold newspapers. Also, while both the Newsies and the UAW began a strike over money issues, they also protested for other things. The UAW was on strike for more modern labor problems, like a shorter work week, while the Newsies were on strike for only money issues.
4. What were some reasons why the Newsies were reluctant to go on strike? How might those reasons influence modern workers to be reluctant to go on strike or join a union?
The newsies were reluctant to go on strike because of the fact that they wouldn’t be making any money. They would have no money to feed themselves. They were also worried about getting beat up by the Delancey Brothers, who work to distribute and sell the newspapers to the newsies. While being beat up might not be a factor that modern workers have to worry about when going on a strike, not being paid would definitely be something that most workers would need to take into consideration when starting a strike. I would imagine that some workers would be reluctant to join a strike out of fear that they wouldn’t be able to feed themselves or their families.
7.Why did the children in the play have to go to work instead of being in school? How different or similar are those reasons to why children and teens work today?
The children needed to go to work instead of school to make money. They needed to provide for themselves because their parents are dead, or like Davey and Les, their parents are incapable of working because of an injury or other issues. This is different from children today because if a child’s parents were absent or unable to provide for them, they would be put in the foster care system and put into new homes that could care for them adequately.
1 The 2023 United Auto Workers Strike took place from September 15, 2023 to the end of October. The workers went on strike because they disagreed with the companies about the terms of their new contract that was being negotiated over the summer. The workers felt as though their pay did not account for the increased inflation of the past few years and current living costs. Additionally, the workers wanted retirement benefits that had not been present since the 2007–2008 financial crisis. The workers went on a stand up/rolling strike where a relatively small number of workers began the strike, and then more and more workers joined as the auto companies took their time negotiating contract terms. By the end of October, each company began compromising with UAW and as soon as negotiations were made, the strike ended. I think that the workers won this strike because the workers got the auto companies to agree to a higher pay and some of their other requests, and all that the auto companies got in return was the fact that the strike was over.
2 The UAW strike is similar to the Newsies strike because in Newsies, the workers on strike were able to get the companies to agree to their terms, and the same thing happened in the UAW strike, although in the UAW strike more compromises were made and the workers did have to agree to a lower pay than they initially asked for. In Newsies, all of the workers in the union went on strike at the same time (and convinced all of the “scabs” to join the strike as well), but the UAW strike was a stand up/rolling strike where workers gradually joined the strike over time.
6 Newsies was pro-union, as a main theme of the play was that all of the newsboys had to be united and stand together if they were to win (this was specifically demonstrated in the songs “The World Will Know” and “Seize the Day”). Although the main character, Jack Kelly, had his doubts about the strike and asked the newsboys to disband the union (in the scene after “Brooklyn’s Here”), by the end of the show, he realized the importance of a union in making change. At the end of Newsies, the newsboys won the strike and were able to be secure in their jobs, all thanks to the union they had formed.
7 The newsboys in Newsies were mainly children and teenagers, and this was due to the fact that a significant number of them were orphaned and forced to live on the streets. These children had no support and had to work for their food and everything else they needed. Additionally, some of the Newsies had single parents and needed to work to support their large families with many young siblings. Davey and Les were not like the majority of the Newsies who had lost parents, as they had a family but their dad was not currently working. Therefore, these two children only needed a temporary job until their dad was able to go back to work. The reasons why the Newsies worked were very different from why teenagers get jobs today. The Newsies needed jobs in order to put food on the table for themselves and their families, but in modern times, many teens work as a way to pay for their hobbies and have spending money. Most teenagers who have jobs in the twenty-first century do not rely on their jobs as the main source of income for their families, however the Newsies needed the pay from their jobs in order to survive.
A recent strike that actually happened just a few days ago (November 16th, 2023), was the Starbucks strike. More than 200 Starbucks locations across the country had workers walk out on one of the busiest days of the year, Red Cup Day. The walkout was due to the unionized Starbucks workers getting unfair treatment from the company, such as payment and treatment. Starbucks employees have constantly raised alarms about understaffing issues in stores and each time have been ignored. “It’s hard enough to do this with a fully staffed store, but more often than not, we’re expected to manage all of this with a skeleton crew of three people or fewer on the floor,” says one burnt-out employee. To add insult to injury, Starbucks announced a 3% pay raise among other benefits for non-unionized workers, which directly relates to the Starbucks Workers Union uniting thousands of employees to demand better treatment by the company. This almost feels like Starbucks is purposely trying to start conflict with employees. The workers chose to walk out on Red Cup Day as it is one of the busiest days of the year for the company. Anyone who makes a purchase gets a free red, reusable holiday cup, which obviously draws in a lot of customers, leaving underpaid, understaffed employees extremely stressed out. “Our customers deserve better, and they deserve to know what’s happening behind the scenes.”
The Red Cup Day strike is very similar to Newsies, the most prominent reason being workers rebelling against unfair treatment. Both worker groups are expected to do large tasks, and are dangerously underpaid. They are different scenarios because Newsies has to do with child labor, which is a completely different thing. The Newsies weren’t understaffed, however, the unfair and cruel treatment is completely different knowing that there are child workers involved.
One of the main reasons the Newsies were afraid to go on strike was because of their fear of ending up in prison. This actually does happen at the end of Act I in the show, when the Newsies are protesting and Crutchie is captured and arrested. This fear is absolutely still relevant today, as it has been seen very recently, such as on October 25th, 2023, when 58 members of the Culinary Workers Union were arrested on the Las Vegas Strip, or November 20th, 2023 (literally yesterday), when 5 pulp mill employees were arrested. A common theme for these arrests is that the strikers were “disturbing the peace,” when in reality, they were exercising their right of free speech.
In Newsies, the children worked rather than attend school to support their families (and themselves, as a lot of them were orphans). In less fortunate communities, this is still common today, where teens are forced to work to help support their families. In more fortunate areas such as Birmingham, most teenagers work to satisfy their own desires and fortunately do not have to work to support their families.
1. Members of the Writers Guild (WGA) voted to go on strike if they were not paid a liveable wage by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMMPTP), on April 18, 2023. The votes were won by an overwhelming 97.85%. The strike officially started on May 2, 2023, after failed negotiations with the AMMPTP to meet writers’ requests. These requests entailed raising compensation in residuals, pre and post-production, health insurance, and protection for writers against AI-generated writing. AI was a major contributor to this strike since studios would not have to pay AI to write their scripts, unlike union members. Even with the recent rise in inflation, writers were still getting paid low wages. The strike ended on September 27, 2023, with writers finally getting almost all of their requests about the listed problems above with a new contract. This was definitely a win considering they’ve been trying to address this issue for nearly four years, but then Covid happened. However, it ended with protection from AI, compensation in many aspects of the film industry, and more.
2. The WGA strike has a few similarities to Newsies. To name a few examples, both groups were striking for better wages and working conditions, even though both the companies they worked for had the money to meet these requests, but chose not to. Although, after their strikes, both the Newsies and members of the WGA union won, however, there are more differences than similarities. A difference is if we were to look back in history and see this is not WGA’s first strike. On January 16, 1960, WGA members fought for the same requests they fought for only two months ago, and that was an increase in compensation, wages, and more. On the other hand, Newsies only had one strike and that is the one being discussed in this blog. Another thing to note is that Newsies was not an official organized union, this is shown when Jack says, “Were a union just saying so.”, which is the opposite of WGA. The Newsies and WGA also had different worries about their jobs. While Newsies worried about inflation hitting their jobs, WGA members worried about getting compensation from studios or being replaced by AI-generated scripts. Another thing to mention is their working conditions. Newsies ran around the streets of New York City trying to sell papers that they had bought, which is very different from writers now. Lastly, the most prominent difference is their jobs. One party writes for shows and studios, while also being a nationwide union with twenty thousand members, while the other is solely based in New York and had seven thousand Newsies on strike.
3. In the early years of America, society had strong gender roles. For women, this included just taking care of the household and the children and not being allowed to have an education. Although, as time went by we saw a more flexible life for women. Most could get an education because of more public schools opening (and the Republican Motherhood). Moreover, women had more opportunities to work and make their own living, overall gaining more independence. A great example of these things is the Lowell girls who experienced working in textile mills and lived without their parents, giving them a new sense of freedom; some girls didn’t even want to get married since the husband would now own everything they had and overall have more control over their lives.
4. Many Newsies were reluctant to strike because they were worried about getting put in the refuge, where kids would be mistreated. This can be shown in the play when Crutchy is put in the refuge and isn’t getting fed but instead beaten up, which makes Jack want to stop the strike, and since he is the leader everyone follows in his footsteps. Another issue was going on strike meant they weren’t getting paid, which begs the question of how long they could go without getting some sort of wage. This reason still applies today for why some people might be hesitant to strike because they have to make a salary in some way and take care of themselves or loved ones. Adding onto that, some unions do pay their workers during strikes, but there are many different factors that go into it. An example is the state the person lives in since only a handful of states allow payment during strikes and if they were to get paid it would only be when the strike reaches a certain amount of time.
The writer’s strike of 2023 was a strike that happened because writers weren’t getting paid enough for their work on shows and movies. This halted the production of many projects in Hollywood and delayed the release dates of shows. Streaming companies like Netflix and Hulu etc. were pocketing the residuals that the writers were supposed to gain. The average pay for a writer has decreased by 4% over the past decade, and adjusted to inflation today that would be 23%. This is a huge problem because although there are more jobs now because of streaming services, wages are low and the cost of living is extremely high. They can barely survive in their current job positions. The strike was resolved by a negotiation for a three-year contract. The contract states that there will be an increase in minimum wage, increased compensation, increased pension and health fund rates, improvements to terms for length of employment and size of writing teams, and better residuals. I think the workers won this strike because, at the end of the day, the workers achieved what they were looking for (better pay and credit for their work).
The Newsies Strike was due to the fact that during the Spanish-American war, Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst had their prices of newspapers at 60 cents per 100 papers, but after the war papers went back to 50 cents but Pulitzer and Hearst kept it at 60 cents. This is similar to the writer’s strike of 2023 because they were both due to financial issues and complaints. A difference between The Writer’s Strike and the Newsies Strike was that The Writer’s Strike was around 21 weeks, while the Newsies Strike was 2 weeks. In the play, the price of the papers was changed during the war in Manhattan. The difference between The Writer’s Strike and the play was that in The Writer’s Strike, it was all genders were involved, compared to the musical where it was mostly boys (not accurate to the real strike).
Women at first had very distinct roles in the house, they were the cook, cleaner, person who educated their kids, etc. As time went on and political movements rose women’s roles in politics and at home changed. The Enlightenment era and the American Revolution are great examples of this. When men had to go to war women had to take up the jobs of their husbands; like running their businesses. They also protested against the Stamp Act which allowed for men to see they are political beings as well.
The portrayal of unions and the strike in Newsies was mostly pro-union because it showed the power of collective action against injustice. An example of this is the actual union of the Newsies paper boys, you can see this in the song “Seize the Day” which became the Newsies anthem. By going on strike, the newsboys stopped the distribution of newspapers and gained attention for their cause, showing the power of a union.
The main reason the women and the non binary people of Iceland went on strike was because of the gender wage. On Tuesday, October 24, they organized a one day strike, which would be Iceland’s seventh action for gender equality, this is also the first full day or one day strike since 1975, when 25,000 people rallied in Reykjavik to successfully gain international attention. Iceland has made big strides toward gender equality, and for the 14th year in a row, Iceland has had the best score for the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report. In 2018, Iceland put in place a new law that required companies to prove they were paying men and women equally. But sadly the pay gap was still predominant. Equality scores in wages and in representation have slipped since 2021 and the numbers are now closer to 2017 levels, which was before the law requiring the proof of equal pay was in place. On average the median salary difference between men and women was a flabbergasting 21 percent. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the gender wage gap in Iceland is still wider than the gap in Belgium and Italy, but a lot narrower than in Britain, Germany, the United States and Japan. And since it was a one day strike, yes it is over, and the problem is being attended to. Women’s day off has drastically helped raise public consciousness about gender issues, said Valgerður Pálmadóttir, a researcher at the University of Iceland, but given that almost 50 years have passed since the 1975 strike, many activists and residents are considering the progress to be too slow. Even Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir of Iceland told the media she would be participating in the strike. And she also said that the fight for gender equality continues.
“I am first and foremost in this to show solidarity with Icelandic women. As you know, we have not yet reached our goals to full gender equality and we are still tackling the gender-based wage gap, which is unacceptable in 2023,”. In general I believe that the workers won, even though this is not a strike for one specific company or agency, I believe that makes it even more powerful. It sends more of a message when people regarding all labor forces can ban together and do something for the common good of all people of Iceland, not just people that work at one company. I think in some ways this strike is similar to the Newsies strike in the way that they’re both fighting for unfair economic opportunities. But a difference within the similarity would be what they are fighting for and how centralized their strike.
The newsies strike was fighting against the raising of the price of newspapers because they weren’t able to afford to buy them to then sell them, and it was mainly focused on New York City and the cities surrounding it while the strike in Iceland was more of a national reach and was fighting for fair wages between all genders.
Was the play pro or anti union? Explain why with specific examples from the play.
I Believe that the play was pro-union because it shows how they banded together for a common interest and how they really exercised the right of being in the US and how the people have power. I feel like if the play was anti union then they would make it so the whole thing failed, showing how they have to rely on the CEO and how they cant rely on each other for everything.
Why did the children in the play have to go to work instead of being in school? How different or similar are those reasons to why children and teens work today?
As my mom is a teacher in Detroit, she often has to teach children that have to miss school because they have a job. This is normally for a wide variety of reasons but its mostly so they can help provide for their siblings. In the play we see multiple times that the newsies are truly like a family and how they stick together and help everyone have basic necessities.
(The first one I accidentally posted the same thing 1.5x, this is the not messed up one)
1. Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
3. How had women’s roles changed in the time period we have been studying (1491-1840s)? Provide some specifics.
4. What were some reasons why the Newsies were reluctant to go on strike? How might those reasons influence modern workers to be reluctant to go on strike or join a union?
1. Starting this September, thousands of members of the United Auto Workers in Detroit, a labor union between auto workers across 3 big companies. The primary cause of this strike was rapid inflation in recent years causing the cost of living to rise, coinciding with stagnant wages. Workers involved in this strike also claim that despite unchanging wages, these companies are profiting at a growing rate. Deals with the auto companies involved were signed throughout the last week of October, officially ending the strike on October 30th. These deals gave workers significant pay raises, like in the GM deal where employees got an 11% pay raise immediately, with stipulations in their contracts to receive raises up to 30% over the next 5 years. Due to the significant pay raises for employees, I believe that the workers involved in this strike won.
2. The UAW strike and the strike in Newsies share similarities and differences. Both the strike in Newsies and the UAW strike were motivated by low wages. Also, both strikes practiced picketing as well as going on strike. However, the strike in Newsies was also motivated by bad working conditions and long hours, something the UAW strike wasn’t fighting against. In the end, though, both of these strikes were successful, achieving the change they desired.
3. While still being upheld to many sexist gender roles, women in America changed a lot between the 1400s and the 1840s. For example, the Industrial Revolution gave some single women the freedom to earn their own wages. Seeking more workers, textile factories in New England employed young women to do the hard work required in these factories. Another example is in 1790 when the New Jersey constitution was reworded to give land-owning women the right to vote. Despite seeming like normal things today, these examples were very revolutionary at the time and showed a significant change in what American women were able to do.
4. The workers in Newsies were reluctant to go on strike because they weren’t sure if others would follow them, limiting the power of the movement and likely resulting in their jobs being merely replaced. These same fears plague modern workers, if 1 person goes on strike, they’ll simply be fired. Workers can’t afford to risk feeding their families. Instead, many oppressed workers simply bear the pains in order to keep a stable supply of income. Employers use these fears against employees in order to keep treating them unfairly.
1.On October 5, 2021 Kelloggs had a labor strike. It ended on December 21, 2021. Kelloggs is a food manufacturing company. They make many of the
Brand cereals we consume today. There were an estimated 1400 Kellogg workers that initiated the strike. The primary reason for the strike was that
the company threatened to move jobs to Mexico. There were disagreements between the Union and the Company related to wages, health care, benefits related to retirement, cost-of living, holidays and time off like vacation time. As the strike progressed there were some concessions. The workers that make the Brand Cheez-Its won an increase in wages of 15% over three years. The strike ended on December 21, 2021 when the unionized workers won a new labor contract for a five year period. Yes, I think the owners won. The company loses money when the workers are not producing products. If there is no product the consumer cannot purchase. In the long run the owners are better off making the employee happy so they can make the product that produces money for the company.
2.The Kellogg strike and the Newsies strike were very similar in many ways. In the Newsies performance, the kids initially were not unionized. The Kellogg workers were Unionized. Once the Newsies realized that banning together and forming a union they would have more power. Once the Kellogg workers went out on strike the Company made concessions that benefited the unionized workers. When Pulitzer raised the price that the Newsies had to pay more for the newspapers, they realized that they could not afford the increase.. Once the Newsies went out on strike Pulitzer was not making money. Eventually, they convinced Pulitzer to lower the price they had to pay for the papers and for him to eat their losses. Kellogg workers were making less wages and the Company made more money.
5.Pulitzer was a very controlling person. He had strong connections with the authorities in the town. Jack Kelly was hiding from the police. Pulitzer offered Jack a package deal. Pulitzer promised Jack that he would get the charges dropped that were pending from the police. He told Jack that he could send him to Santa Fe. He also offered him a salary if he would continue to work and sell papers even if the strike was still on. If Jack refused to comply, Pulitzer would make sure that the other Newsies were placed in the Refuge. Businesses today try to squash strikes by hiring scabs and strikebreakers to infiltrate the strikers. These strikebreakers and scabs cause distinction in the masses to cause violence and stop the strike.
7.The children in the play had various reasons for having to work and not being able to attend school. Many of the kids in the play wanted to stay away from the Refuge. They worked to survive however they could. Many of the kids lived in dysfunctional families. Some were orphans, most of the kids were poor and had to get money to just survive. The difference between the kids having to work in the play verses the kids today having to work was that the Newsies kids had to work out of necessity and the kids today work just to get extra money to spend. Some kids today work to save money for college.
Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
A recent strike that has occurred is the Starbucks workers strike just last week. The main reason the workers went on strike was because of the conditions at Starbucks such as pay, benefits, and staff levels. The economics of the past few years contributed to these conditions in many ways. For example, because of the economy, pay was compromised for the workers. This strike is continuing to go on and it is too soon right now to tell if the owners or workers won. However, it is making shockwaves around the world.
How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
The strike I researched was similar to the Newsies strike in 1899 in the way that they both happened because of working benefits/pay. The Newsies strike, however, was more geared towards the fact that Pullitzer and Hearst raised the cost of newspapers. The Starbucks strike was centered, however, around bargaining their own labor contracts and fixing imperfections in them.
How had women’s roles changed in the time period we have been studying (1491-1840s)? Provide some specifics.
Women’s roles have changed in this time period that we have been studying in many different ways. One example of this is Republican Motherhood in the 18th century. The main idea was that women need to raise sons by educating them with the principles of Republicanism and for this, they need to be educated as well. This was a step in the right direction towards the better treatment of women. Another example is the Industrial Revolution (after it, to be more specific). People needed workers, especially in places like the Lowell Factory System. Women worked long hours there for little pay, yet it was still a way for them to earn money for their families. This was another step to women being treated better and roles changing from just assistants to their husbands to full time workers (This system, however, only had single women).
Why did the children in the play have to go to work instead of being in school? How different or similar are those reasons to why children and teens work today?
The children in the play had to go to work instead of being in school for the main reason that they had to provide for their families, even at such a young age. If their parents were dead or missing from their lives, they’re the only ones that can put food on the table. Even if their parents were there, they needed all the extra help they could get. This is similar to what happens in some countries today, however, in more privileged parts of the world, children and teens can work to get what they want instead of being the earners of the family.
1.NUHW-represented therapists employed by Kaiser Permanente in Northern California and the Central Valley went on strike in 2021 in order to gain more built in time in between seeing patients, an increase in extra pay for bilingual therapists, a promise by Kaiser to hire more therapists and work on a plan to expand crisis services, and an increase in the amount of time for initial assessment of children seeking mental health care. While the reasons for this strike did not center around money, a large reason was that patients were scheduling and showing up to more appointments now that things were virtual, in turn leading to not only a shortage of time for therapists to complete their work, but a shortage of therapists. The strike was resolved when a contract was signed agreeing to the workers’ requests, therefore the workers in this strike won because they achieved their goals.
2.This strike was similar to Newsies and basically any other strike in that the workers thought something was unfair and they wanted to change it. However, it was different from Newsies because the Newsies had one main focus that centered around money, while the Kaiser therapists that were on strike had many different requests for their employers, most of which involved what was expected of them in their work. Another major difference is the level of violence used in either of the strikes, which probably relates to the time periods. The Newsies got in several large fights with the goons on Pulitzer’s side, and even were involved with the Police at a point, while the strike at Northern California stayed peaceful with little if not no violence.
4. The Newsies were reluctant to go on strike because it meant that they’d go a period of time without getting paid, and possibly mean that they just got replaced and permanently lost their jobs. Modern workers most likely experience these exact same doubts because the Newsies aren’t the only ones who need to feed their families.
6. The play was pro union because it encouraged going on strike, and ended with their problem being solved because of the strike. When they first form the union and Davey explains everything they need, they sing “The World Will Know,” the first of quite a few motivational strike songs. Also they repeat the phrases “seize the day” and “watch what happens” quite a few times. When they sing both of those songs they paint the strike in a light that almost compares it to a revolution, where the Newsies finally stand up for themselves and “demand a seat at the table”- Katherine Plumber/Pulitzer.
1. I did some research on the September 15, 2023, to October 30, 2023, United Auto Workers strike. Numerous factors led to the workers’ walkout. Workers could not keep up with the growing cost of living since they hadn’t received a substantial pay increase in years. The automakers also pushed for a two-tier wage structure, which would have resulted in much lower pay for recent hires. The insufficient benefits—such as healthcare and retirement benefits—that employees desired to see increased were a significant contributing factor in the strike. Job security was one last thing that kept the employees motivated. The automakers intended to spend money on outsourcing and automation. The strike came to an end after six weeks, and the UAW and the automakers came to a provisional agreement that improved their healthcare and retirement benefits, did away with the two-tier wage structure, and increased their pay by 25–33%. In the end, I think that the UAW strike of 2023 was a huge win for the labor force. They didn’t meet all of their objectives, but they were able to accomplish some of them.
2. There are numerous parallels between the Newsies strike in 1899 and the UAW strike in 2023, including similar causes as well as similar objectives, strategies, and results. Economic issues like low wages served as the primary driving force behind the UAW walkout. This is comparable to the reasons behind the Newsies strike, which had low pay, long hours, and unfavorable working conditions as their main causes. While the Newsies strike aimed to raise wages, reduce hours, and enhance working conditions, the UAW strike sought to raise these wages and improve benefits. Furthermore, both strikes employ almost the same strategies, which include picketing and initiating strikes. Lastly, the strikes’ results both saw better circumstances for workers, such as pay raises, better benefits, and fewer hours worked.
4. A number of reasons played a part in the Newsies’ reluctance to strike during the 1899 strike. The majority of the Newsies were underprivileged kids and teenagers who made their living by selling newspaper articles. Striking was found to be significantly discouraged by the fear of losing their income. Newspaper giants posed another threat to the Newsies: they could use their clout to take revenge on the striking kids. In addition, the Newsies frequently lacked formal contracts, which made them vulnerable to job loss and legal repercussions. For these reasons, many of them were reluctant to participate. The reasons why contemporary workers might be hesitant to form a union or go on strike are strikingly similar to these. Contemporary laborers, akin to the Newsies, might be financially susceptible. Action may be discouraged by worries about lost pay and possible long-term effects on their careers. Because of the fear of retaliation or possible job loss, this is particularly true in industries with low job security, akin to that of the Newsies.
7. In the world of the Newsies play, a combination of financial necessity, restricted educational opportunities, and loose labor laws led to children working rather than going to school. Widespread economic inequality existed in the late 19th century, and a large number of Newsies were from underprivileged families. For many, selling newspapers was a means of surviving because their families could have depended on the money the kids sold to cover basic expenses. Children were frequently employed at a young age during this time due to laxer child labor laws. Globally, laws prohibiting child labor and educational access have improved, but problems still exist in some areas. In some, children and parents may still be motivated by cultural norms or financial hardships.
1. Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
I will be talking about the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, one that started on May 2 and ended the 27th of September. They went on strike due to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers not cooperating with them. The Guild wanted better compensation, pay, and labor improvements. You see, their 3 year contact was coming to an end, and the deadline to ratify a new contact was May 1st. After 6 weeks of negotiation, and no finalized agreements, the Guild announced that on May 2nd, 12:01 am, they would be going on strike. The Guild voted on this strike as well, having 97.85% vote yes to striking.
Due to the pandemic, one would think writers have been doing well. Though, the Guild stated that it was the opposite, going so far as to say “the survival of writing as a profession is at stake in this negotiation” (nytimes). The Guild previously made sure that writers were at least being provided with minimum wage, but according to a bulletin put up by the Guild, the average writer-producer pay had actually declined by 4% in the past decade. If you adjust that with inflation, it’s a 23% decline. Screenwriters also faced a pay decline due to inflation, as their pay hasn’t changed since 2018. They faced a decline of 14%. Not to mention the “mini room” problem which has picked up a lot of traction in the last few years. In a “mini room” there are normally 3-4 writers who are asked to write a number of episodes for a show before it’s picked up for production. These writers are paid significantly less, and due to the separation of writing and production, these writers are missing out on learning and advancing their own skills. Last but very much not least, the problems with streaming residuals. I didn’t really understand this problem that well, so I’m going to dumb it down the best I can for the both of us. Basically, if a show you write does well, you don’t gain any extra profits from it. You are only paid what was originally agreed on. While this wasn’t a problem when television wasn’t as normalized as it is now, it hasn’t been correctly adjusted to benefit the writers at all. The Guild has tried to fix this during negotiations, but the Alliance didn’t believe anything needed to change. These are only a few problems the Guild was trying to fix, though as I am running out of time I sadly will not be able to explain them all.
The strike was called to an end on September 27th when a new contract was drawn up. It was recommended that those apart of the membership sign, and it’s believed that most will. Of course, this only ended the strike for the writers, as the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists & the Union Auto Workers are still on strike. The Alliance can either accept the Guilds offer, or deal with the consequences if they don’t.
I feel like it’s a mix for the writers, but the Alliance definitely lost. Strikes cause millions of dollars to be lost, and other problems for their companies. Though the Guild didn’t get everything it wanted, this strike will lead to a better future for writers. The new contact gives them security in their jobs, improves their benefits, and guarantees them livable pay.
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
The Newsies went on strike because the newspapers they were buying increased in price, making it so the money they kept decreased. Both them and the Guild were attempting to fix/better their pay, and simply wanted to be treated better by their employers.
Though the Guild went on strike because they were being mistreated for a while, the Newsies were only just facing a pay decrease. Not to mention, the Newsies had to constantly worry about competition/support from other areas, while the Guild has over 20,000 members.
5. In the play, how did Pulitzer exercise his wealth and power to try and get Jack Kelly to undermine the strike? How can we see this exercise of wealth and power used by businesses and CEOs to squash strikes and unions today?
Pulitzer was your basic corrupt rich guy, one that commonly exists today. He used his connections to threaten Jack’s friends/family, and knew that he would face no repercussions because of his position. He knew Jack had nothing to fall back on, and used that to his advantage. Many companies do this today as well, but in different ways. Corruption exists in all forms, but two that come to mind are the undermining of the poor, and the want for power/control. Companies know that those about to lose everything are willing to risk anything to stay even on the brink of survival. They use this to their advantage by hiring people who don’t have the privilege to be able to turn down horrid working conditions or pay. Amazon comes to mind. These companies know unions will teach these people that they don’t have to settle for this type of treatment. Thus, companies often discourage unions, and try to undermine them. Not to mention all the stigma surrounding unions. Companies or people in charge also often get a sniff of power, and feast on it. These people have learned what power is, and will not bear to lose it. They know if they’re workers join unions, they will stop being respected (more like feared) as much as they are. Thus, again, unions are discouraged and frowned upon.
7. Why did the children in the play have to go to work instead of being in school? How different or similar are those reasons to why children and teens work today?
The children had to work because most of them lost their parents, and had to provide for themselves. Davey and Les still had their parents, but their Dad had been injured in the workplace so they had to start bringing in money. These children had nothing, so they had to start working at a young age to be able to survive. This is similar to why some kids/teens work today, though it’s much more uncommon now. Due to age restrictions especially, children aren’t able to work nowadays as they did then. In our area, kids work to have some extra spending money, or put it towards their college fund.
1. Find a recent strike that has occurred since January 2021 and do a little research. What were the main reasons why the workers went on strike? How did the economics of the past few years contribute to their working conditions? How was the strike resolved, if it was? Do you think the owners or the workers won in this strike you researched? Explain why.
A recent strike I found was the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Union which took action beginning on October 4, 2023 for 3 days . Kaiser Permanente is an affordable health care service and is known for being one of America’s health care and non profit organizations. They have been facing competition from for-profit health care services and so they cut their workforce and made unacceptable changes to their workers with the low payment they were given, the burnout, and understatement in general which made the workers go on strike on October 4th. The 75,000 workers demanded more pay and staff by picketing outside of healthcare facilities and protesting. The economy was slower in 2020 due to the COVID19 pandemic which significantly impacted their short staffing. Kaiser Permanente worked out an agreement on October 13 and the national contract was ratified November 9th. The workers wages increased with an hourly wage of $25 in California and also added training and education in response to the staffing crisis. I think that the workers completely won this strike that I researched because they got their way and ended up being the largest ever health care strike. More than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers went on to prove that the strike was essential in forming a better opportunity for other workers and improving their families income in such a hard time, especially after the pandemic.
2. How was the strike you researched in # 1 similar and / or different compared to the Newsies strike in 1899? Provide specific examples from both the play and the strike you examined.
The strike I researched is similar to the Newsies strike in 1899 because they were both pro-union and the cause was mainly the economy. Since the paper goods cost increased by ten cents, the Newsies got mad and went on strike because Pulitzer threw off the whole system and back then the value of ten cents was much more than what it is now. A scene from the play that displays this is when Pulitzer is discussing the value of the newspapers and upping it with the board of advisors due to increase in the price of goods. Another example of this is the staff shortage in the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Union from the after effects of COVID19 slowing down the economy.
6. Was the play pro or anti union? Explain why with specific examples from the play.
The “Newsies” play was pro-union instead of anti-union because they were all in favor of fighting for a cause that would impact all. A specific example from the play was when the Brooklyn Newsies were introduced which brought in the diversity of every newsie and how they all came together as a union to get the system back to the way it was before Pulitzer changed it. After that scene, it shows Davey hyping everyone up to strike which shows his character development throughout the play. Davey was shy and pretty reluctant at first because of the fear of getting in trouble but later became one of the leaders of the big strike.
4. What were some reasons why the Newsies were reluctant to go on strike? How might those reasons influence modern workers to be reluctant to go on strike or join a union?
One of the main reasons the Newsies were reluctant to go on strike is because they might lose their job and it would be hard finding a way to make money if the strike didn’t work. In the play, the environment and the costumes give us a viewpoint of what it was like back then and how much more industrialized it is today. This shows that it was hard living in that period because of the lack of job opportunities and how underdeveloped everything was back then compared to the modern day. Although some of the Newsies feared, others persisted and further on they got their wish. This influences modern workers to be reluctant to go on strike or join a union because it could potentially ruin their career if things go wrong. For example, since the economy is much more stable now they can easily replace workers with new ones. Also adding in new day inventions, the use of guns is prevalent in America so violence could definitely take place if things don’t go other peoples’ ways.
Starbucks Workers- On November 16, 2023, Thousands of Starbucks employees went on a one-day strike, called “The Red Cup Rebellion.” This date is significant because it is Starbucks busiest day of the year, Red Cup Day: Every customer who purchases a holiday drink receives a free, reusable, Red Cup. The desire for customers to have the cup leads to many more drinks ordered per location which overwhelms workers who are underpaid and their locations are understaffed. The strike on November 16 was the follow up of multiple other strikes over the last few years, including Red Cup day 2022. The workers are aiming to receive better pay and better working conditions to make their jobs less stressful all around the year, not just Red Cup Day. However, these strikes have appeared to have little effect on Starbucks. Workers on strike are usually replaced by managers, supervisors, and non-striking employees. As a result, there are more Starbucks stores opening, annual revenue still increased by 12% from 2022 to 2023 (Fiscal year) to a record of 36 Billion dollars, and there is no intention of stopping Red Cup Day.
The Starbucks worker strike is very different from the Newsies strike. First of all, the Newsies were able to gather everyone to commit to the strike which forced Pulitzer to make changes because he was making no money. In the case of the Starbucks strike, non-striking employees fill in for striking employees making the strike pointless because Starbucks isn’t losing money.
4. The Newsies in the play were reluctant to go on strike mostly because they knew they couldn’t make any money while on strike because they wouldn’t be selling any papers. This made them reluctant because most of them couldn’t go for a long time without some form of income because they were mostly poor. However Eventually they realized they had to go on strike because if they did nothing and kept buying the paper, prices would continue to rise and it would result in the Newsies not having any money either way. This is similar to the Starbucks strike because working conditions are terrible and havent gotten better for the last 5 years. The problem of money demonstrated by the Newsies would still be a factor for anyone going on strike nowadays. If you are living paycheck to paycheck, going on strike would be almost impossible because you wouldn’t get paid.
6. The play was pro-union. To start, the whole play was centered around a Newsie, Jack Kelly. Throughout the play, the audience is meant to feel sympathy for Jack and all the other Newsies. For example, we learn very early on that the Newsies are poor and most of them don’t have parents of a family. Pulitzer on the other hand is very rich. From learning these facts, the audience wants the Newsies to win, similarly to the underdog in a sports game, everyone is rooting for them. In addition, the fact that this play is centered around a strike that was successful contributes to the fact that it was pro-union. It promotes the idea that strikes work and will benefit the strikers. Although, this is not always the case. If the Play was Anti-union, it surely would have centered around a strike that was unsuccessful to portray that Strikes don’t work because all the power is in the higher ups of the company.
https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-strike-red-cup-day-7c07617260ea1c4760410e29b4509b6b
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/16/business/starbucks-strike/index.html
https://sbworkersunited.org/strike-with-pride
And the Newsies Musical
1.) The recent Union Auto Worker (UAW) strike agains the Big Three Automaker has lead to the promise of increase in worker pay and benefits. Many employees that are apart of the UAW have become fed up with economic inflation that wasnt mirrored in their wages. Along with inflation, the demand for products and encouraged consumerism means that many companies are wanting to put out more products, at much faster rates. Especially since lockdown has ended, and labor prices are going up, UAW workers strongly felt that they too needed to be appropriately compensated. Very unsatisfied with the slowed productivity of its maufaruting plants, both Stellantis and Ford has agreed to meet the needs of their factory workers. Because they have agreed to the terms set by the UAW, I think that the workers won the strike.
2.) The UAW strike of 2023 and Newsies strike of 1899 are similar because of the competitive pressure that played a role in the outcome of both situations. In the Newsies strike, all printing presses raised the price of their newspapers in correspondence with Pulitzer’s press company. Yet, when Pulitzer agreed to lower his prices, competing presses had no choice not to, especially considering that the choice was only made because of the size of the Newsies’ union. In the UAW strike of 2023, the agreement to properly compensate Big Three employees has indirectly prompted suppliers of the Big Three to also increase the pay and benefits of their workers to either discourage or avoid the possibility of a future strike.
4.) In the play, the Newsies were justifiably reluctant to strike for multiple reasons: inability to provide for themselves, fear or repercussions and violent conflict, threats of forced relocation, etc. As children, mostly withough relations with a blod relative, the Newsies had to provide for themsevelves, and appeared to be struggling to do so. So, the suggestion of a strike caused some reluctance because its failure could have equaled their failure to survive. Now that the post-Covid inflation has been a concern in millions of households across the country, the security and stability of income has grown increasingly valuable. Although certain organizations are not handling their business in morally acceptable ways, very few have the option of jeopardizing their positions for the possobllity of participating on a strike that has no guarantee of a lasting effect.
7.) As I mentioned above, the majority of the Newsies did not have “proper” homes nor did they have relatives that they could lean on in anyway for any kind of assistance. At such young ages, the children were most concerned with feeding and clothing themselves so that thy could see another day. School just didn’t fit in the Newsies’ schedules, because every day all day they would sell papers for rate only a little higher than they bought them at. In modern times, children that live in and provide for lower income households work so similarly provide for themselves and their loved ones. Contrarily, other young adults that live in higher income familers are known to work for experience, spemding money, or escape from their regular day to day.
The recent strike that I researched is the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. This strike represented over 11,500 screen writers protested against the “Alliance of motion picture and television producers” also known as the (AMPTP). Along side the SAG-AFTRA also is the writers guild of america strike. The AMPTP wanted to cut pay of the writers of movie and tv show scripts and disapproved of writers only using AI as a tool for concepts for scripts from artificial intelligence generated responses not to fully replace writers. Due to these things the writers of shows and movies went on strike by discontinuing their work. This lead to tv shows to pause creating new seasons/episodes of shows. Movies were also being made less and less. This strike started to effect streaming services to decrease in purchases of rentals in movies and viewing of tv shows ultimately hurting these companies. Actors of shows and movies helped to support writers by also participating in protests. On november 9 2023 the strike ended by signing and agreement with the AMPTP
The SAG-AFTRA and newsies strike were similar. In newsies the newsies stopped selling papers due to the new price of 50 cents per 100 papers sold. The newsies then striked with stopping to sell papers and protesting with signs and marches. The SAG-AFTRA strike was similar due to the decrease in payment being received to writers.
6. The play was a pro-union musical. In order to stand up for what they believed in and went against the people who made the decisions about the price and order of newspapers. The children were brave enough to protest. It shows how it is pro union by the children forming together to protect their beliefs. One specific example of this was when they rallied together children from Brooklyn, and all other parts of new york to create a big protest where Jack Kelley would speak out. It took a union of people to make this happen.
7. The children in the play had to work because they either didn’t have parents or had parents that were incapable of working due to illness or lack of income. Teens work today to create an income for themselves to maybe save up for certain things. It is unfortunate though that children often have to support their families because their parents either can’t work or are struggling financially. School is much more guaranteed for children now adays though. Even if you are struggling financially schools help families out by providing academic support and paying for their school sometimes.